Now and then, neither here nor there
by Grasshopper-chan
Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past. Written before conclusion of future arc. Eventual R27, others.
1. Prologue

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18 overall

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past. R27, others.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?)

…

Tsuna wasn't quite sure what had happened. He remembered Lambo rampaging around the room like a wild animal with I-Pin on his heels, and then there was a big cloud of smoke obscuring his vision. It didn't take long for him to figure out what had happened. Lambo had undoubtedly tripped over his own feet, sending the ten-year-bazooka hurdling straight for Tsuna, landing him ten years in the future. The only problem was that Tsuna now found himself alone in a dark alley in what couldn't possibly be Japan.

Determined to find his way back to his Family, Tsuna chose the better-lit path and made his way along wordlessly, the soft patter of his shoes on the cobblestone street echoing into the silent night. It seemed that no matter how far he walked, he made no progress. No matter how many corners he turned, there were only more unfamiliar buildings waiting for him and no people around to ask for directions.

At some point—and Tsuna wasn't exactly sure how long he'd been wandering—the young Mafioso heard two successive gunshots, a short break, and then one more, the final shot ringing clear and familiar to the boy's ears. The Vongola ran towards the source of the sound.

Tsuna would be damned if he mistook the sound of that gun. How could he _not_ recognize it? "Reborn!" he cried excitedly, rounding yet another unknown corner. He quickly skidded to a halt when he found himself at the end of Leon's barrel, pointed at him by someone far taller and more menacing than his baby-faced home tutor, who, while seeming to have no qualms about beating and bullying him, would never honestly threaten his life as if he were an enemy. Tsuna couldn't recall ever being so afraid of anything or anyone in his life. And the part that terrified him the most was that he knew he _shouldn't_ be afraid of this person; that this was supposed to be the one person he _shouldn't_ have to fear. Yet, at that moment, Tsuna was terrified.

"Re…born…" he whimpered pathetically, teeth chattering and knees knocking together as he took a tentative step backwards.

"Who are you?" the man hissed dangerously. Tsuna suspected the hitman didn't know what to make of him; no assassin in his right mind would announce his presence like Tsuna just did, after all. "That guy's friend?" he jerked his head in the direction of a crumpled corpse with a single bullet hole through the forehead—a perfect kill. As expected of Reborn.

"Reborn, i-it's me," Tsuna stammered. Ten years was a long time. He had probably changed a lot; maybe Reborn didn't recognize him. After all, he may not have recognized the Arcobaleno if not for the trademark suit and Leon. "It's Tsuna. Sawada Tsunayoshi. Dame Tsuna."

"You must have gotten your information from a faulty source," Reborn sneered, cocking the gun. "Sawada Tsunayoshi is still in pre-school."

Tsuna's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. What? No, that wasn't possible. He was ten years in the future...right? He remembered catching a glimpse of the bazooka in his time; he was certain he should be in the future!

Face pale and hands trembling violently, he managed to inquire, "Reborn…w-what year is it?" Even as he heard the confused reply fall from the hitman's lips, the world around him swayed. "No, that's…not right…" He felt himself falling but could do nothing to prevent it. Much to his surprise, he felt a strong arm steady him. Looking up into the bemused yet curious face of the man that would someday be his kateikyoushi, Tsuna grumbled under his breath about stupid cows and stupid bazookas and stupid mafia. His eyes made contact with Reborn's before the shock overcame his senses and he blacked out.

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past. R27

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?)

…

When Tsuna came to, he found himself in a very large, comfortable bed. This alone was enough to jolt him fully awake, because Reborn had recently refused to let him buy a new mattress—something about training the mind by beating down the body; Tsuna hadn't paid too much attention. Blearily taking in his new surroundings, his eyes slid over the fine, expensive curtains, the wooden, the plush sofa, the hand-carved desk, the wardrobe at the far end of the room, the chair positioned next to it, in front of the door, and then finally focusing on the seat's occupant.

Reborn was sitting there sleeping with his eyes open. Tsuna couldn't help but chuckle at the foreign site of the full-grown hitman snoozing in such a familiar way. The slight sound woke the man instantly, and in a flash there was a gun pointed once again at Tsuna. The young Vongola raised his hands high, letting out a very characteristic "hiiii" at the obvious threat. Although, if Tsuna was completely honest with himself, he'd half expected to wake up in a dungeon. Instead, he was in a very luxurious Italian suite with just Reborn rather than half of the mafia, so he couldn't really complain.

"I'll ask you again," Reborn said coldly. "Who are you? And who sent you? If you try to lie your way out again, I'll shoot you."

Tsuna frowned and, crawling over so that he was sitting with his feet dangling over the foot of the enormous bed, replied, "I wasn't lying to you before. I'm Tsuna, Sawada Iemitsu's son. I'm just…from the future." Even to his own ears, his answer sounded ridiculous. But surely Reborn knew of the ten-year bazooka, right?

Reborn lifted the weapon with an annoyed expression clouding his face. It was a look that was usually reserved for people like Lambo (when he was generous enough to give the child the time of day, that is). "I told you not to lie—"

"No, Reborn, listen, I'm not lying!" Tsuna squealed in a very undignified voice. "I have no reason to lie to you! I came from the future by accident through the Bovino Family's Ten-Year-Bazooka—only for some reason it sent me back in time instead of forward, and the time limit's already up, so that probably means I'm stuck here, and I don't have any dying-will pills or my gloves or—"

"Shut up," Reborn growled, a dark, irritated aura surrounding him. "Your voice is annoying and your face is stupid." Tsuna barely batted an eyelash at the insults that he'd heard countless times before. Nevertheless, desperate as he was to get Reborn to believe him, he wasn't suicidal enough to continue his panicked tirade. "There is no way that you expect me to believe—"

A loud knock on the large double doors interrupted whatever the hitman had intended to say. A familiar voice rang clearly from the other side. "Reborn, it's Iemitsu! I just returned from Japan, and the Boss said you needed to see me!" Tsuna "hiiiiii"ed at the announcement and, wanting to avoid seeing his father, with whom he always got annoyed, proceeded to dive under the covers when Reborn rose to let the other man in, gun still fixed carefully in the hiding boy's direction.

"What's this I hear about you taking in some stray, Reborn?" Iemitsu asked curiously, stepping inside. "I thought it went against your policy to show mercy to enemy hitmen." There was a hint of incredulity in Iemitsu's voice that made Tsuna's blood boil indignantly; Reborn was more than capable of showing compassion. He wasn't as heartless as Iemitsu was making him sound. Reborn was very careful with Tsuna and his Guardians, always mindful of their spirits while he nurtured their talents and honed their skills. He not only made sure they came out of their battles alive, but also that they came out unbroken, able to smile and to continue moving forward.

"…claiming he's your son, actually," Reborn's scornful tone snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Well, I left Tsuna back in Japan with Nana," Iemitsu informed the hitman. "And, of course, he's still in pre-school."

"As I thought."

Tsuna sighed and reminded Reborn, "I told you, I'm from the future!" His voice was heavily muffled by the mountain of blankets, but he knew the man would understand him anyways. "I'm in middle school now!" he added, poking his head out but still keeping the covers cocooned around his body. "I mean…I have an average test score of 17.5 percent, and I can't jump over the vaulting horse," he admitted, embarrassed, "so I guess I can see why people would want to deny that I'm related to them, but I really am Sawada Tsunayoshi, and there's nothing you can do about that."

"I can send a couple bullets through your brain," Reborn offered coolly. "Then you'd just be a corpse. Names wouldn't matter anymore."

Tsuna backpedalled and curled up into a tiny ball. He was fairly certain that Reborn was not talking about Dying Will Bullets, and by no means did he want to test the man. "N-n-n-no, p-please, that's n-not necessary!"

Iemitsu leaned closer, scrutinizing him. "But he really looks a lot like Tsuna," he observed. "Maybe he's telling the truth…" He pulled out a picture from his wallet and handed it to Reborn, who examined it carefully before switching his attention to Tsuna.

"You're right. The resemblance is uncanny."

"Have you taken him to see the Ninth yet?"

"No, he passed out like a complete wimp and has been drooling like a baby ever since," Reborn sniffed haughtily. Tsuna bit his lip uneasily; he had always known that Reborn was arrogant and snooty and an elitist, but he had never turned his nose up at Tsuna before. Not really. Not when things were serious or when it mattered.

"Reborn…" he whimpered, wishing _his_ Reborn was there instead of this one.

"What?!" Reborn snapped, causing Tsuna to flinch timidly.

"N-nothing…"

This earned a menacing glare from said hitman. "Then don't speak, idiot. In fact, don't address me at all. It's been bothering me since I met you, but you call me by my name as if you have some right to use it when you don't. I don't know you, and you certainly are not close enough to me to address me so informally. Here I thought that Japanese people knew how to show respect and formality, but I guess kids these days don't even know what those words mean."

"I…I'm sorry," Tsuna murmured, bowing his head and biting his lip in an effort not to cry.

"Maa, maa, why don't you take the kid to see the Boss," Iemitsu suggested, trying to disperse the tension in the room. Tsuna reluctantly climbed out of the bed and stood a safe distance away from Reborn, silently waiting further direction.

"Don't wander off. If you do, there are many painful traps and punishments that await you. So stick close unless you want to die a painful death." Tsuna gulped and nodded.

As Reborn led him out of the room, Iemitsu gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and a friendly smile. Tsuna almost allowed himself to hope that the man believed his explanation. Almost. After all, if Reborn of all people didn't believe him, then who in their right mind would?

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18 overall

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past. R27

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?)

…

As they walked down the grand hallways of what Tsuna now assumed was the Vongola Headquarters, he found himself looking at anything but the slender, suit-clad back in front of him. He didn't want to look at Reborn right now. Hell, he didn't even want to think of him. The man walking ahead of him was so different from the Arcobaleno he knew that it was almost as if they were two entirely different people.

As they passed by a large room, Tsuna's ears picked up the light sound of a piano and allowed his gaze to wander over towards the source, his feet unconsciously coming to a halt in the process. He absently peered into the room at the tiny figure seated alone at the grand piano. Despite the small boy's delicate movements and upright posture, there was nobody else in the room, no audience to perform for or receive praise from. To Tsuna, it was a very lonely scene, and he couldn't help but step inside and drift closer.

Something about the melody was oddly familiar. He was certain he'd heard it before, though he could not place from where. It was strange, though. He knew he'd heard the song before, but in his memory it sounded completely different. Happier, lighter, more peaceful, full of hope and strength. Now, it sounded bleak and angry. Strange how the same song could sound so different from person to person. Where had he heard this song again? No matter how hard he tried, Tsuna could not recall. The sound was so different.

When the last chord rang out with an air of finality and the young pianist relaxed his posture with a small sigh, Tsuna clapped eagerly. "Uwaa, that was amazing!" he complimented, startling the child, whose head snapped in his direction, revealing wide blue-gray eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears. Tsuna's smile faltered at the horrified expression on the boy's face, but he forced himself not to stop his applause. "You're very talented. Ne, ne, what is the name of that song? I've heard it before, I think. It's very beautiful."

"Who the hell are you?" the child questioned, sounding angry. Tsuna noticed that, although he had an accent, the boy was speaking Japanese.

Tsuna just smiled kindly. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. You can call me Tsuna," he replied. As an afterthought, he added, "Or 'Dame Tsuna,' if you want. My classmates call me that sometimes, heh heh."

To his relief, the boy let out a small snort of amusement and wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands. "I'm Gokudera Hayato."

Tsuna's smile froze on his face as he struggled to register this fact, which, in hindsight, should have been obvious. "G-Gokudera-kun? I s-see. Well, it's very nice to meet you."

"You're Japanese," the young Gokudera stated, sniffling and observing Tsuna curiously. "Why are you in Italy? Are you related to the Vongola Family?"

"Um, I guess you could say that. Although, I wasn't aware of it until not too long ago."

"I pity you, then," Gokudera mumbled. "It would have been better for you not to get involved with the mafia. They only ruin people's lives." As he said this, he looked incredibly sad.

Tsuna laughed at the irony. The Gokudera of his time didn't possess the same dislike for Vongola, at least if him calling Tsuna "Juudaime" was anything to go by. "I think people in general are inclined to destroy rather than build up. It's rare to find someone who protects the happiness of others at the expense of their own."

Instead of replying, Gokudera changed the subject. "Did you come here to train? Are you moving to Italy? If so, you'll need to learn Italian. Not everyone around here can speak Japanese, after all."

"Ah, uh, I guess you're right, heh heh. I'll probably be here a while, so learning the language would be helpful, ne?"

Gokudera shifted awkwardly and, keeping his eyes carefully averted, offered, "I could teach you. If you want, that is…"

Tsuna grinned. "I'd love that." Gokudera's eyes flickered to his hopefully. "Really, I mean it," he assured the boy. Gokudera offered a small smile in return. "But I have to warn you, they call me Dame Tsuna for a reason. I'm pretty slow."

"I'm smart, so I'll explain it to you," Gokudera announced proudly, cheeks pink and eyes bright, and Tsuna was able to catch a glimpse of his self-proclaimed right-hand man.

"Well, I can see that I'm in good hands," Tsuna said.

"Don't worry, Sawada-san. You'll be fluent in no time," Gokudera vowed, the passion and enthusiasm Tsuna was so accustomed to rising up in the previously melancholy boy. "I promise."

"Tsuna's fine. Sawada-san makes me sound old," the Tenth responded lightly. He held out his pinky finger. "I'm gonna hold you to that promise, Gokudera-kun. Don't forget, okay? Even if ten years pass, definitely don't forget."

"Okay," Gokudera chirped, looping his finger together with Tsuna's eagerly, a wide smile on his face.

"Not to interrupt this wonderful little display of friendship, but I thought I told you not to get lost," a deep voice cut in. Tsuna's gaze landed on Reborn, standing furiously in the doorway. He obviously hadn't noticed when Tsuna slipped away, too caught up in brooding and being a bully.

Tsuna sighed and offered a final smile to Gokudera, who was watching the exchange with a concerned expression. "Ja mata ne, Gokudera-kun. Bai bai," he said, waving to the boy as he was dragged away by an irate Reborn.

Gokudera obediently waved back. "Arrivederci, Tsuna-san."

TBC


	4. Chapter 3

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Author: me

Language: English

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18 overall

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past. R27

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?)

…

"Sorry for the wait, Ninth," Reborn said, shoving Tsuna into the room ahead of him and closing the door with a resound click behind them. Iemitsu was also there. He offered a friendly smile, which Tsuna hesitantly returned. The Ninth looked very much the same as in Tsuna's early memories.

"So this is the stray cat I heard about from Iemitsu," the Ninth remarked curiously, observing Tsuna with a gentle, grandfatherly smile. "What's your name, son?"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Tsuna answered.

"Now, now, there's no need to lie, child," the old man said patronizingly. "Just tell us your real name and who sent you and for what purpose, and you can go home. No harm done."

Tsuna was really getting sick of people insisting he wasn't who he said he was. "I'm not lying. I'm Tsuna from ten years in the future. I'm Vongola Juudaime." He pulled out the Sky Ring and dangled it from its chain for all to see. "This is the only proof I have. Please believe me."

The three adults in the room were speechless. "Tsunayoshi, you said your name was?" Timeoto muttered, much more serious this time. Tsuna nodded with equal gravity. Maybe someone would finally hear him out and help him get home. Usually that was Reborn's job, but the kateikyoushi wasn't around this time to help him solve his problems. Neither were his guardians. He was alone in a dangerous world where no one trusted or even believed him. He fought back a shudder as the cruel reality of the situation hit him like a bucket of ice water first thing in the morning—and he knew from experience (thanks to Reborn, of course) that ice water was a very, very unpleasant thing to wake up to.

"Please, if you don't believe me, I don't know what I'll do. My friends and family are all in the future. I have nothing here. I know this might sound really pathetic, but I'm alone and I'm scared. Please help me get home."

The Ninth Vongola gave him a long, hard look before sighing wearily. "I believe your words, Tsunayoshi. Reborn, I am entrusting this boy into your care. For the time being, your other missions are to be put on hold. Iemitsu, please send a message to the Bovino Family requesting temporary access to their Ten Year Bazooka." Iemitsu quickly bowed and took his leave to fulfill the order. Reborn gave Tsuna an unreadable look before turning his attention back to Timeoto.

"Vongola, there is something else…"

Timeoto looked up from the paperwork he'd begun to look through. "Yes, Reborn? What is it?"

"It's about Gokudera Hayato…"

"Ah, the young lad who came to live here recently, yes? Something about being allergic to his sister," Timeoto trailed off. "What about him?"

"He spoke to this 'Sawada Tsunayoshi' here," Reborn informed the Ninth, nodding to Tsuna, who looked between the two adults in confusion. Why wouldn't have Gokudera have spoken to him?

"I see. Then perhaps you should also watch over Hayato," the Ninth said. "It might do him good to have some human contact. It can't be healthy, the way he's been shutting everything and everyone out since he arrived."

"But—"

"Why would you say something like that?" Tsuna cut Reborn off. This piece of information disturbed him. "Why would Gokudera-kun shut everything out? That's not like him at all. He's so straightforward and strong and passionate…why would he act like that?"

Reborn glared at him for interrupting, and Timeoto chuckled, "My dear boy, I do not know of which Gokudera you are speaking, but young Hayato was sent here recently because, after attempting to run away from home, he was caught by one of our men and has stopped talking. He seldom acknowledges the presence of others, and when he does, it is spiteful and violent."

"That can't be right," Tsuna shook his head in denial. "Gokudera-kun is…he may be coarse and rash, but he's not..." Shamal once told him that Gokudera used to be a lone wolf. Could this have been the start of it? Was there such a drastic difference between the Gokudera that knew Tsuna and the Gokudera that didn't? Had Tsuna's existence really changed so much about the person known as Gokudera Hayato?

"_Ne, Gokudera-kun, you play the piano, right?"_

"_Used to, Juudaime. Why?"Gokudera replied, smiling widely._

_Hesitantly, Tsuna asked, "W-Would you play something for me?"_

"_Hmmm, it's been a while since I've played…" Tsuna's disappointment must have shown on his face, because Gokudera quickly added, "But if it's for Juudaime, I'll do my best! Just please don't expect too much."_

At length, Tsuna said, "Gokudera-kun may be angry right now. He may be suffering a lot and unable to deal with his feelings, but he'll be okay. He'll work through things and sort them out. He's strong and brave, and I believe in him. I think…" And here Tsuna smirked at the irony; the words Gokudera wanted most to hear, and he wasn't even around to hear them. "I think Gokudera will make a fine right-hand man someday."

"…_I came back because I wanted to see the fireworks."_

"No," Tsuna corrected, "He already is."

TBC


	5. Chapter 4

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Author: me

Language: English

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18 overall

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past. R27

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?)

…

The rest of the day was spent quietly. Apparently, Reborn had decided to take advantage of his "vacation" as Tsuna's guardian. They hadn't left the mansion once all day. Not that Tsuna minded; he was the type of person that would stay in bed all day if he could—which seldom happened nowadays, seeing as how Reborn always seemed to have some crazy plan to "train" (torture) Tsuna that required waking up early every morning.

When evening rolled around, Reborn threw some clothes at Tsuna and barked at him to get dressed, telling him that they were dining with the Vongola Family tonight. Tsuna hurriedly moved to comply, stripping at record speed and dressing even faster. Except, he misaligned his buttons and basically knotted his tie. Reborn, who was watching with an impassive face, let out an impatient sigh and stepped over to Tsuna, who flinched, expecting a blow from the man that would someday be his home tutor.

"No wonder they call you Dame Tsuna," the hitman grumbled, unbuttoning Tsuna's shirt and then redoing it properly before moving to work on his tie. Tsuna just stood there awkwardly, a red sheen of embarrassment covering his face at the fact that he even needed help getting dressed. Once the tie was properly fastened, Reborn moved his hands to Tsuna's hair, styling the spiky locks so that they at least looked fashionably messy rather than just sloppy. "There," Reborn mumbled to himself, a hint of accomplishment coloring his voice as he stepped back to review his work. "Let's go, no time to dawdle. We're late enough as it is." Tsuna stared at the man's retreating back before hurrying after him. It wasn't until later that Tsuna would realize that Reborn hadn't pointed a weapon at him once throughout the entire affair.

When they arrived at the dining hall, Reborn opened the door and motioned Tsuna through before following close behind him. Tsuna suddenly wished he had stayed in the room. He found himself standing in a huge ballroom filled with finely dressed adults, many of them giving off very dangerous energy, alerting the teen to the fact that they were probably all Mafioso or at least associated with the Mafia. Tsuna gulped and unconsciously took a step backward, only to feel his back collide with Reborn's chest. He glanced back with a shy, apologetic smile, trying not to let his fear show on his features as he did so; Reborn would probably bully him if he knew Tsuna was intimidated by being in a room with Mafia. Hopefully he wouldn't have to prove himself like that time at Mafia Land…

Uncertain of what to do, Tsuna looked up once more at Reborn for directions, and to his relief, he felt a large hand on the small of his back, guiding him farther into the room. Reborn led them towards where Iemitsu was laughing with the Ninth and several other adults Tsuna didn't recognize.

"Reborn, Tsuna!" Tsuna's dad beamed at them. He looked Tsuna over and said, "Wow, is this the same scruffy lookin' kid that I saw earlier?" Tsuna flushed indignantly at the statement, wanting to snap back that the scruffy looking one was Iemitsu, but his father had already redirected his attention to Reborn. "I didn't think you'd show, Reborn. You don't usually 'have time' for these sort of things."

"Well, seeing as how all of my assignments were just _cancelled_, I have _plenty_ of time," the hitman retorted, sending an accusing look in Tsuna's direction.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a new voice said, approaching the group. "I didn't think The Great Reborn would ever lower himself to socializing with others, kora!"

"I didn't think the Vongola would condescend to let weaklings like you in, Colonello," Reborn snapped back in kind. Tsuna sweatdropped as he watched the tension flare between the two rivals to such an extent that he could have sworn they were producing sparks. Iemitsu laughed at the two hitman and made a stupid joke that had them refocusing their irritation on him. Tsuna looked on absently.

"Tsuna-san!" The young Vongola whipped around to locate the source of the voice calling his name. He soon spotted a tiny Gokudera weaving his way through the crowd. "Konbanwa."

Tsuna smiled kindly and replied, "Good evening, Gokudera-kun. How are you?"

"Very well, thank you," the boy replied politely. "And how is Tsuna-san this evening?"

"Not bad. A little lost, but…" Tsuna shrugged. Gokudera giggled and, taking Tsuna's hand, pulled him forcefully in the direction from which Gokudera had originally come. Not so surprisingly, there was a piano in the corner Gokudera had chosen to hang around.

Gokudera led Tsuna over to the grand piano and opened it up, sitting down on the stool. "Fantasie Impromptu in C-sharp minor, Op.66," he said and then began playing the same piece from earlier. Even as Tsuna listened to it, he noticed that it had a different feel than before; something within the child's heart had already changed. There was a glimmer of hope shining through the darkness of the betrayal he'd felt after learning about his mother.

When Gokudera played the final soft notes, the room filled with a warm, glowing silence before breaking into polite applause. Gokudera cast a brief glance around the room at his audience and then smiled up at Tsuna. It was the same kind of smile the Gokudera in his time wore whenever Tsuna asked him to play, a smile that told him the performance was for him alone.

"Arigatou, Gokudera-kun. It was a wonderful performance." Gokudera's face lit up at the praise and he flung himself at Tsuna, clinging to him like a little puppy. Tsuna laughed and patted him on the head.

"Tsuna, the Ninth wishes to speak with you," Reborn interrupted. Tsuna nodded and accompanied Reborn to greet the Ninth Vongola Boss. Gokudera followed behind Tsuna like a little duckling.

Timeoto, who was standing with several big, fearsome-looking men, gave the three a grandfatherly smile and motioned them over. Gokudera hid behind Tsuna timidly. Tsuna himself was tempted to hide as well, but he was fairly certain that Reborn would beat him up if he tried.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," the Ninth acknowledged him. "Ah, and I see Gokudera Hayato is with you." Gokudera tightened his grip on Tsuna and observed the old man distrustfully. "I see you two are getting along quite well."

"…" Tsuna didn't know what he was expected to say to that, so he remained silent. Gokudera was unwilling to grace the man with a response.

"Well, Tsunayoshi, since you seem to be very good with children, I have a favor to ask of you," Timeoto continued unperturbed.

"Favor?" Tsuna repeated curiously. He looked at Reborn, but the hitman's face was carefully blank. "What kind of favor?"

"There is another young boy who might benefit from your company. Would you mind spending some time with him while you are here?"

That didn't seem so bad. "Sure. May I ask who it is?"

"Don't worry, you'll find out when the time comes, my boy. Now, why don't you kids go enjoy the rest of the party? Go on, you too Reborn."

Reborn went off grudgingly to sulk in a corner. Tsuna had to suppress a laugh; the Reborn from his time was always the one who organized parties and events—he stole the show!—so it was surprising to see how little he cared for socializing a mere ten years ago. He was almost as bad as Hibari.

Tsuna was so busy mentally laughing at Reborn that he wasn't watching where he was going and ended up running into someone. His mind quickly registered two things: one was that the person he'd just run into was very tall and looked strong, and the other thing was that the person was slowly turning around to menacingly tower over him.

It was a few more seconds before he registered a third thing: he knew this person—and not in a good way. "Hiiiii! Squalo-san! Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai!" he apologized over and over, bowing repeatedly in the vain hope that the crazy swordsman would overlook his offense.

"Voooooii! What the hell do you think you're doing, you punk?! And how the hell do you know my name!" Tsuna cowered before the shouting man. Gokudera watched the exchange anxiously. "You think you can just crash into me and not pay the price, you little Japanese brat?! Voooii, I'm gonna tear you to pieces!"

"Hiiiii—"

"No, don't!" Gokudera cried, stepping in front of Tsuna protectively. Tsuna was more than a little surprised when the child pulled out a pair of dynamite. The sight seemed to give Squalo pause as well, and he eventually just shoved them aside muttering about how it wasn't worth the time and effort to pummel a couple of brats like them. "A-are you okay, Tsuna-san?" Gokudera's hands were trembling slightly as he put his dynamite away.

Tsuna nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to you, I guess," he added gratefully, honestly touched by the child's attempt to protect him.

Soon after, Reborn approached the duo. "Oi, Tsuna, say goodnight to Gokudera. We're leaving."

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, Gokudera-kun. See you around."

Gokudera smiled. "Un. Bye bye!"

Tsuna found Reborn waiting for him at the door; good thing, too, because Tsuna didn't remember how to get back to his room from there. The two walked back in silence, though it wasn't uncomfortable. Soon enough, they were back at the room Tsuna had woken up in. Reborn ushered him inside and, when Tsuna just stood there with a blank look on his face, walked over to the bed, picked up the set of pajamas that were laid out on it, and shoved them into the boy's hands before disappearing into the adjoining bathroom. Tsuna obediently changed, careful to fold the clothes he took off so that they wouldn't wrinkle. Once he was changed, he sat down awkwardly on the large bed and waited for Reborn.

When the hitman finally emerged from the shower a good half hour later, Tsuna noted embarrassedly that the man was wearing a pair of black silk pajama bottoms that clung to his skin where he hadn't fully dried with a towel and a matching top that he'd left unbuttoned, showing off a smooth, muscular chest. It suddenly occurred to Tsuna, as he watched the hitman haphazardly plop down next to him, rubbing a small towel over his hair to dry it, that Reborn was very handsome. He could easily see how the man had multiple lovers throwing themselves at him. Bianchi, for example, beautiful and strong-willed as she was, had never seemed bothered about being the "fourth lover" in Reborn's repertoire. Tsuna absently wondered what Reborn's number one looked like; she must have been a real knock-out. Definitely not someone Tsuna could compete with…

"What are you sitting there staring at me like a brain-dead idiot for? Go take a shower or something," Reborn grunted. Tsuna jumped to his feet and dashed towards the bathroom, his face flaming at the realization of where his thoughts had taken him.

When he reemerged from the bathroom showered and dressed in the overly large pajamas—which he suspected were better fitted to Reborn's figure—he tiptoed across the darkened room as silently as he could, trying not to even breathe lest he wake the sleeping figure in the bed from his slumber. Waking Reborn up was something you simply did not do if you valued your life.

He made his way over to the couch, intent on going to sleep as quickly as possible and hopefully—miraculously—waking up back in his own bed in his own time. Not likely, Tsuna knew, but…he could hope, right?

Just as he was getting settled in a semi-comfortable position on the plush couch, "Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Tsuna jumped at the low, half-asleep growl that came from the direction of the bed. Reborn's figure shifted, and the hitman added, "You're not sleeping on my couch." The auburn-haired boy blinked his wide eyes confusedly, trying to wrap his head around whatever it was that Reborn was insinuating. Would Reborn make him sleep on the cold tile floor?

When Tsuna made no movements, the man elaborated, "There's enough room for two over here."

It was perhaps the first time Tsuna had ever heard such generous words from his home tutor. It was also, perhaps, the first time he'd ever heard Reborn offer to share something.

"H-hai!" Tsuna said in a shaky voice and padded over to the bed, slowly, tentatively clambering over to the pillow that was waiting for him not too far from Reborn's. Lying his head down on the pillow, his body on its side facing his home tutor, Tsuna observed the man's elegant features in the dark, shadowy room. For a moment, Tsuna forgot that Reborn didn't sleep with his eyes closed, so peaceful did he look lying there beside him, so when the young Vongola found himself suddenly staring into deep ebony orbs, he started visibly, heat rising to his cheeks at having been caught staring at his tutor.

When Reborn didn't say anything, Tsuna managed a feeble, "Goodnight," before he clenched his eyes shut and pulled the covers up over his face, blocking out the world.

He slept well that night.

TBC


	6. Chapter 5

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Author: me

Language: English

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18 overall

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past. R27

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?)

…

"Umm…Reborn-san?" Tsuna said in a tiny voice. The hitman shot him a death glare that would have had a grown man shaking in his boots—though Tsuna was just glad he didn't shoot a bullet instead. "Is there a kitchen in this mansion? I-I'm kind of hungry." Starving was more like it, and soon enough the growling would get loud enough to hear across the room where Reborn was reading. The room Tsuna had woken up in…apparently, it belonged to Reborn. As did the bed. In hindsight, the seemingly cruel hitman had been almost ridiculously generous with him. It was no wonder the other Mafioso had all seemed intrigued by his charity.

"No."

"That's a lie, and we both know it," Tsuna complained, nagging at the man in the same way his hunger was nagging at him.

"Then don't ask stupid questions."

"What good could possibly come out of starving me?" the boy tried to reason, and then belatedly realized that this was nothing new. Reborn was always taking his food. "You're just a mean bully." Crossing his arms across his chest, Tsuna pouted, more out of boredom than actual resentment. "You pick on little kids and make babies cry."

"Keep your mouth shut. The sound of your voice makes me want to puke."

"What do you have against me? I didn't do anything to you!" Tsuna yelled.

"You're breathing wrong. You smell funny. Take your pick."

"You're a jerk. You were never this mean before—and that's saying something because you blow me up on a regular basis!"

"Because you're an eyesore," Reborn sneered, firing off a round in the general direction of Tsuna's feet. Tsuna squealed in his usual Dame-Tsuna fashion and barely managed to avoid getting his foot shot off. When the smoke cleared and Tsuna felt brave enough to wrench his eyes open, he found Reborn standing moodily in the doorway, an impatient frown on his face. "Hurry, up, Dame Tsuna, or I'll eat your share as well."

Tsuna found the corner of his lips twitching upward ever so slightly. There was the Reborn he knew! "H-hai!"

In the kitchen, they ran into Iemitsu and Lal Milch, who looked like they were drinking coffee and talking a bit during their break.

"Yo, My Sweet Tsuna!" Iemitsu cooed in English when he caught sight of the boy. Tsuna was torn between gagging, yelling, and fleeing the scene.

"Iemitsu, this is serious. If we don't do something about this kid, he could cause a lot of trouble for the Ninth," Lal Milch spoke up before anything more awkward could happen. Iemitsu grew solemn and pensive.

"Reborn, what do you think of all that mess with the Estreneo kids? They're dangerous, but it's not like we can go in and apprehend them. They were victims, too."

"If they kill without warrant, they deserve to be punished."

"I'm not asking you, Lal," Iemitsu brushed her off. "Reborn?"

"I don't think that their deeds should go unacknowledged. They must be rebuked. Capital punishment is a little much, though…"

"Estraneo Family?" Tsuna inquired, feeling a tinge of recognition. His Vongola sixth sense was sending off alarm signals in his head. He should know this; it was important.

"Butt out, kid. It's not your business," Lal ordered harshly.

"I think a slap on the wrist should be sufficient," Reborn said, ignoring the exchange. He sat down at the table, and Tsuna followed suit. "And a good warning not to direct that violence at the Vongola."

"Good, good. Me too," Iemitsu laughed easily. "Lal here wants to sever head from body and then feed them to the dogs."

"That's Lal Milch for you: bloodthirsty and lustful as ever," Reborn jabbed. Lal returned the insult with a hearty glare, which didn't seem to affect the hitman. "To be honest, their leader—Rokudo, was it?—something about him rubs me the wrong way. I don't trust him to behave, but I don't feel that we have the right to punish them for what was more or less self-defense, however excessive and tainted by vengeance."

Tsuna's eyes widened. "Rokudo Mukuro?!" he exclaimed. The three adults immediately turned their attention to him, and he slapped a hand over his mouth nervously.

Lal rose up, furious and quick to judge as ever. "How the hell do you know—"

"I suppose Reborn's inkling was dead on, then? Is this Rokudo punk causing trouble in the future?"

"No!" Tsuna laughed uneasily. "Well, I mean, he _was_, but then a lot happened and things got sorted out. Oh, but I guess since he's possessing Chrome-san now, that means he's on the loose again…hey, don't look at me like that! A lot can happen in ten years!"

"There you have it, then," Reborn said. "If Rokudo is still causing trouble a decade from now, it is probably better to hand him over to the Vendicare ahead of time."

Tsuna was hit hard by a flash of Mukuro's body locked away in the lowest level of that godforsaken prison where not even light or sound could penetrate. He felt his knees weaken at the memory. "No, you can't!" he choked out desperately, rising to his feet so fast that his chair fell over backwards. "Please, don't! The Vendicare are vicious and unjust! Sure he did some terrible things, but he's not a bad person, regardless of what he says!"

"Whoa, Tsuna, calm down—" Iemitsu tried to assuage him.

"I-I know you told me not to feel sorry for him, but…but still…I can't accept that!" Tsuna shouted. No one deserved the fate that Mukuro received. This wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation, either.

"_Reborn, I'm Vongola Decimo, right?" Tsuna inquired suddenly one hot afternoon. It was a peaceful day. Lambo, Fuuta, and I-Pin were running around in the yard. Bianchi was helping Nana with the laundry. Tsuna and Reborn were sitting on the porch eating watermelon. There were no guests today, strangely enough. Everyone was busy, so the house was quieter than usual. As much as he loved his friends, Tsuna was enjoying the brief reprise from the extra commotion Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Haru generally brought with them. _

"_Yep. That's right."_

"_So…I have a lot of power, right?"_

_Reborn looked over at him. "What're you thinking, Dame Tsuna?" he said suspiciously. "Whatever it is, you'd better give up while you're ahead. I'm not sure you have the brain capacity to formulate a half-decent plan." They both knew he was just picking fun at Tsuna, that there was no real malice behind his words. They both also knew that those words were untrue._

"_I want Mukuro out of that place," the young Mafioso admitted. "During the Mist Battle, I saw where they were keeping him…it's inhuman. I don't like it, and no matter what you say, I can't just ignore it. I'll do whatever it takes to get him out. He's one of my guardian's, after all. He's Family."_

_Reborn just slipped on his trademark smirk, and Tsuna knew he'd made the right decision._

Unconsciously, Dying Will flames ignited on Tsuna's ring, burning brightly. "I forbid it," he said, his desire to protect his Family flooding his body from head to toe.

"Oya, oya. Still as naïve as ever, I see, Tsunayoshi-kun." A shiver went up Tsuna's spine as his internal Mukuro-sensor went haywire. Turning slowly, almost afraid of what he would see, Tsuna soon found himself face-to-face with a teenage Rokudo Mukuro. Everyone else in the room immediately drew their weapons and aimed them at the Mist Guardian.

"Mukuro…" Tsuna breathed, eyes wide and body tense. For some reason, his Vongola sixth sense was telling him that this Mukuro was different from the usual manifestations. This Mukuro was not attached to Chrome. This Mukuro was the original in the flesh. "But how…? What about…?"

"Ah, you are wondering what happened to Nagi, I assume?"

"Nagi?"

"Chrome," Mukuro elaborated. "She's fine. Don't worry. My illusions are more than powerful enough to sustain her organs even across such a wide time gap."

"You were released?" Tsuna questioned incredulously. As nice as that would be, the Vendicare didn't strike him as the merciful type that would simply let him go free after a few good deeds.

Mukuro chuckled. "Kufufu. Of course not. Don't be ridiculous. They locked me away in the lowest, most secure dungeon in their prison. They wouldn't let me walk out so easily. No, there was a jail break."

"Jail break?"

Mukuro's eyebrows furrowed and the corners of his lips dipped down in confusion. "Was it not by your orders that I was sprung from the Vendicare Prison?"

Understanding filled Tsuna's features, and he relaxed his posture. "I'm glad…glad it worked out."

Mukuro raised an eyebrow. "You sent the all of the Varia officers and two additional Arcobaleno and expected a failure?"

"What?! The Varia?!" Tsuna yelped. "But I thought they were—"

"That Arcobaleno baby made a deal with the Ninth," Mukuro explained calmly. He seemed somewhat amused by Tsuna's shock as well as the blatant distrust of the room's other occupants. "They would be pardoned completely in exchange for a pledge of exclusive loyalty to the Tenth. They answer to you, and you are responsible for their discipline."

"Hiiiiiii!! Nooooo," Tsuna wailed. "I don't want the Varia hanging around me! I had enough of them at the Ring Conflict!" he complained.

"Kufufu. I was also given the same bargain, and since I was here during my youth, the baby thought that sending me here as protection would be a convenient way to have me prove my loyalty." Mukuro laughed. "But don't let your guard down and think I'm here to protect you. I'm only doing this so that I can get closer to possessing your body." Tsuna's senses told him that it wasn't true; that Mukuro, as his Guardian and Family, was there to protect him, and he in turn would protect those entrusted to his care. It was his duty as Vongola Decimo.

Tsuna gave the taller boy a soft smile. "Don't worry. I'll protect you, too," he promised. Mukuro blinked and stepped forward, opening his mouth to say something, only to have a gun poking into his forehead.

"You are an intruder, and you are threatening my charge. Back off now, or I'll drill you full of holes," Reborn hissed, surprising both Mukuro and Tsuna with his open display of protectiveness. Reborn rarely interfered in their time, after all. It wasn't his place as a tutor to learn Tsuna's lessons for him.

"Kufufu. I wouldn't think of harming him. I'd prefer to take over his body intact, thank you very much."

"And why exactly are you so intent on taking over my future son's body?" Iemitsu inquired, gun equipped but not aimed. There wasn't really a need for him to keep his weapon on Mukuro if Reborn was doing so.

Mukuro looked like he was about to oblige the man with an answer, but Tsuna promptly leapt forward and covered the illusionist's mouth. "It doesn't really matter! Mukuro's my Guardian now. He's not gonna try something like that again, heh heh," Tsuna laughed weakly, trying to convince himself as well as the others. Who honestly knew what Mukuro was capable of? However, as soon as he realized what he was thinking, he shook his head, ashamed. What kind of leader was he that he couldn't even trust his own Family? He knew Mukuro well enough to know that the young man wouldn't try anything that would jeopardize his newfound freedom. "It may be naïve of me to say this, but…this man is one of my Guardians, and I trust him with my life."

"Oi, Rokudo Mukuro! I swear, if you even think about laying one finger on the Tenth, I'll blow you to pieces!" Tsuna gawked in a strange mix of horror and relief as he found himself staring at Gokudera's slender frame standing in the doorway, glaring temperamentally at the Mist Guardian.

"Oya, oya."

"Gokudera-kun!"

The glower easily melted into the goofy grin that Gokudera always seemed to wear around him. "Juudaime! Reborn-san sent me to keep an eye on you! Don't worry, Juudaime! As your right-hand man, I won't let this bastard harm you! In fact, if it's okay with you, I'll get rid of him now!"

Tsuna forced a weak smile on his face. How could Gokudera offer something like that with such an innocent-looking grin on his face? "N-no, that's okay. Really." Gokudera looked incredibly disappointed at this, and Tsuna couldn't help the giggle that escaped his lips at the sight. "I didn't order for him to be released just so you could blow him up—"

"Kamikorosu yo."

"Hiiiii" Tsuna screamed like a girl, immediately jumping behind Gokudera at the trademark line of the Namimori Middle School Disciplinary Committee Leader. It took several long seconds to realize that the voice was far too high-pitched to be Hibari Kyoya himself. Soon enough, he discovered the source of the terrifying line. "Hibird too?!"

"Kami korosu. Dame Tsuna is a weak herbivore. Mukuro is a pineapple. Kami korosu. Kami korosu. Kora."

"Ne, Gokudera-kun…did Hibird just say 'kora?'"

"Yep. Why?"

"Kufufu. I suppose that since that psychopath spent his childhood in Japan, he couldn't come here in the past. What a pity. I would have loved to use him as a punching bag again."

Gokudera and Tsuna gaped in disbelief. Did Mukuro not remember that _he _was a psychopath as well, and that Hibari was probably capable of using _him_ as a punching bag by now? The two exchanged looks but wisely opted to remain silent on that issue.

"It seems that people from the future are popping up left and right," Iemitsu stated. "I should report this to the Ninth. Something needs to be done. Reborn, can you keep an eye on these three in the meantime?"

"That is my order from the Ninth," Reborn replied, nodding. Iemitsu smiled in a friendly manner at the three teens and then exited. Lal Milch stood and, giving off a distinctly displeased aura, left as well, going in the opposite direction once she was out the door. Tsuna nervously turned to find Reborn observing them with a cool, calculating expression. It was obvious Reborn wasn't quite sure what to make of them, but he would never say anything about it.

"Juudaime, Reborn-san said that it shouldn't take more than a few months to fix," Gokudera informed the boy eagerly.

"A few months?!" Tsuna exclaimed. "That's a long time! I'm gonna miss school! And my mom's gonna worry!"

"Don't worry, Juudaime. It's summer vacation right now. I'm pretty sure that Reborn-san wouldn't let you miss too much school." Tsuna shuddered in agreement; Reborn would shoot him if he tried to skip school. "As for Okaa-sama, we told her you were going to spend the summer training in the mountains meditating under waterfalls and fighting bears for a pro wrestling tournament."

There was a long silence.

"…and she believed that?" Tsuna questioned incredulously.

"Yep!" the explosives expert chirped.

Tsuna sighed. Of course. Everyone always believed Reborn's stories, no matter how far-fetched they were.

"Kufufu. Don't look so forlorn, Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro chimed in, a mischievous smirk on his face. "Think of it as a good opportunity to learn about Vongola Headquarters and the Italian lifestyle. I, for one, intend to make the most of my stay." Tsuna translated that to mean he was going to either rain down havoc on the Vongola for the entire trip or gather information in order to do it later.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he confessed, "I don't know much about Italy. If I'm going to be here for a while, it might be good to have a look around."

Gokudera blinked in realization. "Oh, that's right! This is your first time to Italy, isn't it Juudaime?" Tsuna nodded shyly. "Jaa, shall we do some sight-seeing while we're here?"

"That sounds like fun!" Tsuna agreed quickly.

"Pointless. There are much more practical ways to spend your time," Mukuro said with a creepy chuckle.

Tsuna ignored him. "Ne, Reborn-san, is it okay for me and Gokudera-kun to have a look around the city?"

There was a long pause in which Reborn just glared at the three of them. "If you even think about using it as an opportunity to escape, I'll shoot you."

Tsuna beamed excitedly.

TBC


	7. Chapter 6

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Author: me

Language: English

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Story Notes: Story Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?) Also, thanks to Superbi for correcting me about Squalo's age (and sorry for mistaking who said it ;o;); but I'll be honest and say that I am too lazy to go back and re-write it (although the idea of writing a 12-year-old Squalo is pretty tempting). Just pretend that he is Dino's senpai instead of peer.

…

_Tsuna ignored him. "Ne, Reborn-san, is it okay for me and Gokudera-kun to have a look around the city?"_

_There was a long pause in which Reborn just glared at the three of them. "If you even think about using it as an opportunity to escape, I'll shoot you."_

_Tsuna beamed excitedly._

(A little less than two weeks later)

Gokudera had slipped into nerdy tutor mode the second they had begun their tour. No one really paid him much attention, but Tsuna at least tried to make it look like he was half-listening to his friend's words. "And this is the statue of…" Tsuna zoned out and peered around. Mukuro noticed his wandering gaze and smiled briefly at him before returning his attention to some strange gadget he'd been tinkering with that the young Vongola didn't recognize. "…and in 1789 he attempted to take over the fortress of the rivaling clan, which failed due to lack of supplies…" Reborn had been sleep-walking with his eyes open for quite a while now. Tsuna made a mental note to ask his home tutor how to do that when he got back to his own time.

"Voooii!! Well if it isn't the little runt from the other night!" Tsuna was startled out of his daze by the loud exclamation. Reborn was instantly prepared for a fight, and Gokudera thoughtlessly flung a handful of dynamite at the intruder. Mukuro watched on in obvious amusement as Squalo proceeded to extinguish the flames on the dynamite sticks and then swing his sword at Tsuna, who flinched with a loud "hiiiiii," curling into a crouched ball on the ground. Reborn fired off several bullets, forcing the Varia member back to a safer distance.

Squalo didn't seem at all put off by the barrel of Reborn's gun pointed at his face. He ignored the hitman in favor of staring down at Tsuna probingly. At length, he muttered, "Blood of Vongola, huh?"

To say Tsuna was surprised would be an understatement. Squalo had not only recognized that he, no-good Tsuna, was connected to the Vongola Family, but also that he had the Vongola Flames and the power and authority to wield them—and all with a glance, to boot! So why had Squalo fought so hard—risked his life—to make Xanxus the Tenth Boss? Was he really so strongly against Tsuna? Did Squalo really hate him _that much_?

"Don't you have some assignments to take care of, Sperbia Squalo?" Reborn hissed.

Squalo smirked and replied, "Aa, that's right, I do have work to do, unlike some senile geezer who's stuck babysitting 'cause he's no good doing anything else."

Reborn looked ready to drill him full of lead. "If I recall correctly, this old geezer was able to land two bullets in your thick hide not too long ago. Care to test my skills again?" Squalo paled and hurried off, looking sick at the memory of his injury.

The party continued on its tour of the city, and Tsuna followed his storm guardian's lead absently. He tried to swallow down the guilt he felt at the knowledge that he would someday return Xanxus to his ice-prison and make Squalo go through the same loss all over again. And now Squalo apparently had to serve him back in his time; the long-haired swordsman must really despise the whole lot of them for what happened in the Ring Conflict.

"Oya, oya, you'll give yourself an aneurism if you keep thinking so hard, Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro teased. "I think you will be quite surprised to find that people are willing to forgive-and-forget when they are properly compensated."

"But you still want to take over my body and destroy the world," Tsuna reminded him. "You haven't forgiven them for what they did to you."

"Not one bit," the older boy confirmed. "And I never will. However, that doesn't mean I'd rather spend my life in that tank. I prefer to be free."

A thought occurred to Tsuna. "Umm, speaking of freedom…you said that Chrome was doing okay. What about your other two friends? Where are they?"

Mukuro blinked. "You mean Ken and Chikusa? They're at home."

It was Tsuna's turn to blink. "Home?"

"Kufufu. Surely you haven't forgotten the place, Tsunayoshi-kun…"

"Wait, you mean that they're living at that old, abandoned building in Kokuyo Land?"

"Of course. That is our home, after all." Tsuna took a moment to process the information. It was such a filthy, run-down place, and yet, to those four, it was 'home.' Like Tsuna's house was for him and his friends. Home. Tsuna smiled and said, "I'm glad everyone's safe."

"Keep up," Reborn called to the two teens lagging behind. "Or I'll shoot you to death." Tsuna was really beginning to see the similarities between Reborn and Hibari. No wonder those two got along so well.

"…and this is the location where the final battle took place between the Vongola III and the head of the enemy Family over the territory in the north of Sicily…" Meanwhile, Gokudera was in a world of his own.

…

When the four of them arrived back at Headquarters that evening, Tsuna was so exhausted he was ready to collapse for the rest of the night. Unfortunately for him, it seemed that Reborn had other plans. And when he said "Reborn" had other plans, he meant the one from his time.

"Yo, Tsuna! Long time no see! Gokudera, what's up? This is a fun game, isn't it? The little guy called it the time-travel game. Cute, isn't it? Ha ha!"

"You stupid baseball idiot! Shut the fuck up and stop bothering the Tenth with your presence!"

"Aww, c'mon, Gokudera! The more the merrier, ha ha!"

"Rokudo Mukuro, I'll bite you to death right now."

"Oi, Sawada! This sure is one EXTREME training program! It's almost like we're at the headquarters of the real Mafia!"

"Lambo-san's here, and he's gonna eat _all_ of the food at the party tonight!"

"…" Tsuna wanted to cry at the sight of all of his crazy guardians causing an uproar in the dining hall, attracting the attention of all of the people who'd gathered there to eat and socialize. Why, oh, why, did Reborn send all of the Guardians back in time? And yet, deep down Tsuna knew he was more than a little glad to see them. Everyone was together again. The whole Family. Well, not the _whole_ Family…

"Ciaossu!" Tsuna's heart skipped a beat. Unable to suppress the hope bubbling up in his chest, Tsuna's head whipped around to stare teary-eyed at his home tutor. Reborn had come to rescue him! Reborn had figured it out faster than planned! Reborn…was wearing that smirk that he always wore when he was about to cause Tsuna a great deal of physical pain and mental stress.

Tsuna gulped, flinching as a foot connected with his face and proceeded to knock him over. "Wipe that stupid grin off your face, Dame Tsuna! You've got nothing to be happy about. You skipped the last day of exams to play in the past. And you also skipped the beginning of my super-special-one-of-a-kind summer torture—I mean, _'training'_ program. I hope you're prepared to make up the work I had prepared for you…" he trailed off threateningly. Tsuna's lip quivered in fear. No, whatever joy he thought he'd been feeling _must_ have been a mistake—having Reborn around was decidedly _not_ a good thing!

The infant home tutor hopped up onto Yamamoto's shoulder and addressed his future self, which, Tsuna noted with puzzlement, was still present in the room. Shouldn't the Ten-Year Bazooka have sent him to the future or something? "We'll be intruding upon the Vongola's generosity for a while. These kids have some lessons to learn in this time."

"Is that part of the super-special-one-of-a-kind training program, little guy?" Yamamoto inquired curiously.

"Yep," Reborn chirped, and Tsuna whimpered in horror. So much for Reborn coming to take him home! The stupid Arcobaleno only came to laugh at him and make things worse! "I've designed special programs for each of Tsuna's Guardians in order to strengthen any weak areas in the Famiglia's bonds."

"Sounds EXTREME!" Ryohei said.

"Can I bite him to death in this training program, infant?" Hibari asked, nodding to Mukuro.

"Aww, did you miss being my punching bag that much Hibari Kyoya? Kufufu," Mukuro teased, narrowly dodging the blow Hibari sent his way in response.

Reborn ignored the fight, instead proceeding to explain the 'training' program. "Think of it as a game." At this, Yamamoto let out a characteristic "ha ha, sounds like fun." Reborn smiled and continued, "You will be divided into teams to two and given a special coin to hold and protect. Your goal is to gain ownership of all of the other teams' coins within the time limit while maintaining possession of your own. You cannot use violence, threats of violence, or physical attacks to obtain them. They must be willingly given to you, and both partners must agree to it. The time limit is one month. Any questions?" When he was greeted with silence, he split the members up and handed out the coins: Gokudera and Yamamoto, Hibari and Mukuro, and Lambo and Ryohei.

"W-wait, what about me?" Tsuna said when he realized there was an even number of Guardians. Reborn just smirked in that devilish way that told Tsuna he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Tsuna gets to work with me." As he said this, however, he pointed to his other, taller self watching them dangerously with gun in hand, wary of the newcomers.

"Hiiiiiiii?!"

"There's always Lal Milch…" Reborn trailed off thoughtfully. Tsuna squeaked and quickly attached himself to the adult hitman observing them from the corner. The Arcobaleno infant smirked. Before the adult Reborn could pry Tsuna off of him, Iemitsu practically skipped into the room with a calm Timeoto and a furious Lal on his heels. The sight of Lal's murderous aura only made the young Vongola tighten his grip on Reborn.

"The boy is _dangerous_!"

"Now, now, Lal," Timeoto soothed patronizingly.

"Why isn't anybody listening to me? He's a liability! They both are! You can't be okay with this! Right, Iemitsu!?"

Iemitsu ignored her in favor of seeking out his not-so-little son. "My baby!"

Tsuna released Reborn in favor of seeking shelter behind the nearest Guardian. Unfortunately for him, Hibari hated being crowded by weak herbivores and therefore sent him flying to the other end of the hall with one of his tonfas. Reborn jumped over to him and began using his back as a not-quite-bouncy trampoline. "Dame Tsuna should know better than to aggravate his Guardians," he chastised. "How do you expect them to look after you if you are always pestering them with your annoyingness?"

Tsuna cried in pain and gasped out, "I'm—sorry—wheeze—for—ow!—exist—ing!" Reborn delivered another blow to his head and then leapt off, casually making his way over to a shocked Iemitsu as if he hadn't just had a hand in beating the guy's son to a bloody pulp. As soon as Reborn was a reasonable distance away, Gokudera dashed over to his boss.

"Juudaime! Hang in there!" After helping Tsuna up, he turned his anger on Hibari. "How dare you hurt the Tenth! You're gonna pay for that, Hibari you bastard!"

Hibari lips twitched upward in a superior smirk. "Hnnnn? Is the herbivore going to offer himself up as a free meal? I won't hesitate to bite you to death."

"You really didn't need to hit him so hard, though," Yamamoto stepped in. "After all, there's no violence allowed in this game, so let's all play nice. Ha ha."

Hibari turned his attention to Yamamoto. "So you're saying you want to be the first to die, huh?"

"No, I'm saying let's not fight. The little guy said so, and it's his game." Tsuna couldn't help but think that all of this—every moment from the very beginning of their acquaintance—had always been Reborn's game. But he kept quiet, happy that Hibari's attention was off of him. "If we're playing this game, we have to play by his rules, right?" Yamamoto tried to reason with the other boy.

At these words, Hibari paused thoughtfully. "Well, if the infant says so, I suppose I'll have to wait until later to bite you all to death."

Any relief Tsuna might have had drained instantly out of his system at the sudden brush of fabric against his sleeve. With a shudder, he turned to find Mukuro smiling down at him in that creepy way of his that Tsuna was beginning to think was worn for the sole purpose of freaking him out. "Kufufu. What wonderful, protective friends you have, Tsunayoshi-kun." Even beneath the thickly caked-on mockery in the young illusionist's tone, Tsuna could tell that it wasn't a completely sarcastic remark.

Licking his lips, he offered a tentative reply, "Y-you have them, too." Mukuro's eerie smile drooped into a cold frown filled with warning. "Your two friends—Ken and Chikusa?—they're very protective of you!"

Mukuro's eyes shuttered completely and he replied in a cool drawl, "They are not friends, Tsunayoshi-kun. They are tools. I have never once considered them as friends. I only look after them because finding suitable replacements would be a bother. They are both perfectly aware of that."

Tsuna frowned and insisted, "Well, regardless of how you see them, they definitely think of you as a friend. And Chrome-san does, too. They believe in you and want you to be safe and happy." He stared defiantly up at Mukuro, daring him to deny the obvious truths. Tearing his gaze away from the intense stare, he added in a whisper, "I…also wish for your happiness." And it was true. Tsuna wanted all of his Guardians to be happy, though he knew very well that in their present state it was impossible to please them all, especially with all the animosity between them. Almost as impossible as this "game" that Reborn came up with.

"I said give me the coin, or I'll bite you to death."

"That's against the rules, ha ha." Tsuna gaped at how relaxed Yamamoto was under the deathly glare of the furious Namimori Middle's Disciplinary Committee Head. "But if you trade me something, I'll consider it."

"Kami korosu."

Tsuna sighed and absently watched Yamamoto dodge Hibari's attacks. As he stood there, leaning against the wall next to an unusually quiet Mukuro, Hibird fluttered over and made a nest in his hair. "Kami korosu. Dame Tsuna is a loser. Mukuro is a pineapple. Kora!"

"Y'know…I never did learn why he started saying 'kora!' all of a sudden."

"Ask yourself one thing, Tsunayoshi-kun: do you _really_ want to know the answer to that?" Mukuro replied with a creepy grin. Tsuna gulped and decided he was okay with not knowing.

"…and that's the story," he picked up the tail-end of his home tutor's sentence. The miniature hitman was talking to the Ninth and Iemitsu, both of whom were wearing amiable smiles and nodding eagerly. "So we'll need accommodations for the rest of the month. Oh, and we'll be expecting a few more guests later on in the month."

"Of course," Timeoto agreed. "It sounds like a delightful little program. I'll leave it in your hands, Reborn, as always," he told the infant, who just smirked cockily.

TBC

…

Additional notes: Sorry this took so long to get out. When I wrote the first six parts, I had a weekend with absolutely nothing to do and no place to go, so I had time and a computer to write with. Then, my laptop caught a horrible virus and is now broken. Two ofmy chapters, which were supposed to go between theprevious chapter and this one, were lost also.(cries) So, yeah, sorry but chapters will be coming a lot slower now that my computer is gone.


	8. Chapter 7

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Author: me

Language: English

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Story Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?) Also, thanks to Superbi for correcting me about Squalo's age (and sorry for mistaking who said it ;o;); but I'll be honest and say that I am too lazy to go back and re-write it (although the idea of writing a 12-year-old Squalo is pretty tempting). Just pretend that he is Dino's senpai instead of peer.

…

It was strange how much things could change from one day to the next. The next evening, Tsuna once again found himself in the large dining hall amidst countless terrifying Mafioso. However, instead of being intimidated or uneasy, he felt…very much like he always did at home when his Guardians took over the dinner table and caused a ruckus. Because that's exactly what he found upon entering the large room.

Lambo was running across the food table, picking up handfuls of food out of serving bowls along the way with his bare hands, getting his clothes and the tablecloth filthy and howling rude, childish remarks on the top of his lungs. Gokudera was trying to catch him and, in a fit of frustration, resorted to using his dynamite, which led to the demolition of half the table. Yamamoto was laughing in a very air-headed, carefree way from the sidelines.

Hibari was leaning against the wall in a shadowed corner with his tonfas drawn and his killing intent emanating at full-throttle; clearly he was ready to bite anyone who approached him to death, regardless of who the person was or how influential they were. Ryohei was running laps around the hall, exclaiming something about doing some EXTREMELY light pre-dinner training TO THE LIMIT. Mukuro was leaning against the wall kitty-corner to Hibari, sipping a glass of red liquid. Tsuna just hoped it was wine and not blood.

And, of course, there was the infant Arcobaleno surrounded by a crowd of people in the center of the room, hogging the spotlight as usual. Tsuna couldn't help but smile at the sight and glance over at the sulking adult hitman standing just far enough away from him so that it would not look like they were standing together but still close enough to claim he was watching the boy as were his orders.

"Ne, Reborn-san, do you have that coin?" Tsuna inquired. Reborn pulled a sour face, like it was a pain to acknowledge Tsuna's existence, before reaching into his pocket. He tossed the coin to Tsuna, who fumbled and nearly dropped it. Tsuna smiled and admired the object that represented Reborn's newest form of training. He wondered if they would be able to live up to his expectations and somehow manage to make the necessary sacrifices to end the game. Part of him wanted to win—that was human nature, after all—but he knew that winning in and of itself wasn't the point of this exercise. It was trust and sacrifice. And Tsuna, as their leader, would be the first one to show his Guardians that he trusted them to pass this test. "Ne…can I give this away?"

"We'll lose."

Those two words spoke volumes. Tsuna could plainly hear Reborn's competitive streak surfacing. Reborn. Did. Not. Lose. Tsuna also noted with pleasure that Reborn had referred to them as "we," as a single unit, as a team. "If I know my Guardians, then it won't matter," Tsuna assured the man gently, trying not to look like a begging puppy. After all, Tsuna hated when Gokudera gave him that look, and he didn't want to make Reborn feel guilty either. Though, on second thought, Reborn probably wouldn't be fazed by it at all.

"Do what you want. I don't care about your stupid little game, Dame Tsuna."

Instead of letting the insults get to him, Tsuna grinned and scurried off. When he was within a few paces of his Cloud Guardian, the young man raised his tonfas threateningly. "If you crowd me, little herbivore, I'll—"

"Bite me to death, right?" Tsuna finished for him with a friendly smile. "But if you do that, I can't give you my coin."

This remark made the other boy hesitate. "Why would you hand over your coin?"

"Because no one else is going to," Tsuna answered simply, "and I think there are more important things to be learned from this game than manipulating your opponents."

Hibari narrowed his eyes. "So you're surrendering without a fight?"

"No, that's not it," Tsuna shook his head. "What I mean is, _this_ is my way of fighting this battle."

"Losing?" Hibari let out a bark of incredulous laughter. "You really are a weak herbivore."

"I have decided to trust my Guardians," Tsuna said with an air of finality. "If you don't want the coin, I'll give it to Mukuro or Gokudera-kun or Nii-san, but I'm offering it to you first as a way of saying I trust you to be my Guardian. Whether you accept it or not is up to you." His Guardians had been chosen for him. They had been given the Vongola Rings as an act of someone else's faith—of his father's and the Ninth's—but Tsuna himself had never really had a chance to formally acknowledge them as people to whom he would entrust his safety. Now, Reborn was giving him the chance to do so, and he wouldn't miss this opportunity.

Tsuna honestly half-expected to get beaten up, but instead of a tonfa to the teeth, he found an upturned palm in his face. He stared at the empty hand and then at its owner's face, which was giving him an impatient look. "Well?" At the blank stare, Hibari clarified, "The coin. Now. Or I'll bite you."

"Hiiiiiii! H-hai, douzo," Tsuna stuttered, handing it over to the Cloud Guardian, who curled his hand around it and looked around the room at the other Guardians with a triumphant glint in his eyes. Tsuna could tell the other boy would undoubtedly lord this victory over his opponents (and 'teammate') for a very long time.

Gokudera looked absolutely betrayed, and Tsuna tried to ignore than pang of guilt. But he knew that giving it to Gokudera and Yamamoto was out of the question; they were his best friends, and it would have been easy to play favorites. Giving it to Ryohei would have easily boosted Kyoko's brother's image of him, but, really, he didn't want to play favorites or to do it for personal gain. If he did, he wouldn't be making much of a point, now would he?

Uncertainly, he glanced over at the infant who held so much sway over his ever action. The gleam in Reborn's eyes informed him, yet again, that his decision was not a bad one. Even more hesitantly, Tsuna looked at his home tutor's past self. Reborn was watching him contemplatively, as if carefully weighing something about Tsuna's choice in his mind. Those dark, unfathomable orbs met Tsuna's eyes briefly, and the young Vongola quickly averted his gaze form the intense stare, feeling his cheeks heat up for no apparent reason.

Before he could think too deeply into why he'd reacted in such a way to having Reborn's attention directed at him, he had the wind knocked out of him and nearly fell over from the force of the impact as someone collided with him at high speed. "Tsuna-san!" Tsuna blinked down at the silver-haired boy attached his waist in disbelief. Why was younger Gokudera still here? Come to think of it, that was the case with Reborn as well, though Tsuna had just chalked that up to Reborn being eccentric and above the laws of nature.

"Gokudera-kun," he greeted kindly, hugging the boy. "Good evening!"

Gokudera grinned up at him with that trademark puppy-dog look of his. "Ne, ne, I heard your friends came from your country to train with you."

"Yep, that's right. Reborn brought them all here," Tsuna confirmed, though his attention was on the arguing forms of his two closest friends and Hibari. Gokudera was really getting worked up over something, and Tsuna could only assume it had to do with the coins. Yamamoto didn't seem too happy, either, but he was still apparently trying to keep the peace.

"Are all of your friends Japanese?" the young boy inquired, oblivious to the turmoil around him.

Tsuna absently replied, "N-no. Some of them are foreign. My best friend is half Italian." Gokudera stomped his foot furiously and shoved Yamamoto so hard the baseball jock almost lost his balance. "There's a Chinese girl." Gokudera pulled out several sticks of dynamite. Hibari raised his tonfa. "I think Lambo's Italian." Yamamoto managed to stop the onslaught. Gokudera punched him and stormed off, heading towards Tsuna. "Mukuro, too. He's from Italy, I think." Gokudera was almost there, and he looked ready to complain.

"Where in Italy—"

Tsuna cut the child off with a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Sorry, can you hold that thought for just a minute, Gokudera-kun?"

The young Gokudera frowned in confusion and opened his mouth to speak, "Wh—"

"Juudaime!" Gokudera exclaimed. "Why did you give that bastard your coin?! It should be the other way around! You're the boss, not him! He'll just abuse the power he's been given!"

Tsuna smiled placatingly. "Gokudera-kun, I made a decision. Are you going to question it?"

Gokudera immediately withdrew like a kicked puppy. "I…that was inexcusable, Juudaime," he murmured defeatedly, bowing low from the waist. "Please accept my apologies."

Tsuna leaned down so that he could peer up at Gokudera's bowed face. "Gokudera-kun?" he said. Gokudera just bowed lower, looking incredibly guilty and on the verge of getting down on his hands and knees to beg for forgiveness. "Gokudera-kun? Please raise your head," the young Vongola requested. Gokudera hesitantly complied, careful to keep his gaze lowered. "Gokudera-kun, it's okay. Please don't feel bad. You're my friend, right? That's why you're here right now. You're by my side as my friend, not my servant."

"But as a Guardian—"

"As my Guardian, it is your duty to do what is in my best interest, even if that means questioning my decisions," Tsuna said. "It's okay," he repeated. "I'm not mad. You're doing what you think is best. Now, ask me again why I gave my coin to Hibari-san."

Gokudera still refused to meet Tsuna's eyes head-on, but they did flicker to his face briefly. "Wh…why did…Juudaime give…Hibari the coin?"

Tsuna nodded, satisfied, and answered, "Because I wanted to tell the Guardians and friends I already trust that I also trust my Cloud and Mist Guardians."

Gokudera's temper flared again. "But Juudaime! Have you forgotten that they've tried to kill you?! And that they both attack you on a regular basis?"

"Gokudera-kun tried to attack me, too," Tsuna reminded him in a small voice. "Eliminate me and take my title of Vongola Juudaime away." Gokudera deflated once again. Tsuna continued, "People can change. I want to believe that they will as well. I am proud of all of my Guardians. I can tell that they will all grow into remarkable protectors and friends."

"…your Vongola senses tell you that, Juudaime?" the dynamite user inquired softly, looking to the side.

Tsuna shook his head. "Nope. The time that I've spent with you all is what tells me that."

Gokudera's eyes surely had stars in them. "Juudaime…" he said in worshipful awe. Tsuna sweatdropped at the sudden change of mood.

"Umm…" Tsuna turned his attention to the younger Gokudera. "I-I don't understand…what's going on."

Tsuna had to bite back a laugh. It was no wonder young Gokudera was so confused! "Oh, well, this is one of my friends. From the future. But I think you already know each other, heh heh."

"Uwaa, that's so weird! There're two Gokuderas!" Yamamoto laughed, approaching them. Gokudera immediately snapped some rude greeting, which Yamamoto laughed off easily.

"You're from the future, Tsuna-san?" Tsuna laughed tentatively at how easily the young pianist could ignore his older self arguing with Yamamoto.

"Yep, I'm from the world of ten years later. And in case you're wondering, yes, that's you in ten years. Gokudera-kun, say hello to your past self."

Gokudera broke away from his one-sided argument with Yamamoto to flash the boy a bright smile and say, "Yo!" before returning to the familiar squabble.

Young Hayato looked down, a slightly depressed expression spreading across his face. "What's wrong?" Tsuna asked in concern.

"Even in ten years, you still treat me like a little kid. You still talk down to me and humor me," the boy muttered, pouting.

"That's not true, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna replied. "Gokudera-kun is my best friend. I don't think of him as anything less than myself. He's my Guardian and a very important member of my Famiglia. He's the person who can always be counted on not to hesitate when I need help, and the person who plays beautiful music on the piano for me, even though I know he doesn't like to play, but he does anyway because I ask him to." Tsuna laughed uneasily when he saw the same starry-eyed look of adoration fill Hayato's face. Just what he needed—another worshipper!

"Oi, Dame Tsuna, we're leaving. Let's go."

Tsuna turned to look at Adult Reborn standing in the doorway. "Hai!"

His friends wished him a good night and then watched him go with confused looks on their faces. "Wait, so is the Tenth sharing a room with Reborn-san? He doesn't have his own room?"

"Well, they're partners in the little guy's game," Yamamoto reminded the silver-haired teen. "Maybe all of the partners are sharing rooms. We are, too, remember? Ha ha."

Gokudera immediately dismissed that logic. "No, absolutely not. If that were true, either Hibari or Rokudo would be a bloody corpse by now."

TBC

…

AN: Yeah, weird place to cut off, I know. But I'm typing up what I have hand-written in small increments so that my dorm mate won't get too pissed off at me for stealing her computer (since mine is dead and I'm too poor to buy a new one right now), and she wants me outta her room asap (I kinda invaded, lol), so yeah. Hopefully more tomorrow! (And yes, this does end up Reborn x Tsuna, even if you have your doubts now. There's actually some in the next chapter. Otanoshimi ni!)


	9. Chapter 8

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Author: me

Language: English

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); sexual situations; violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Story Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?) Also, thanks to Superbi for correcting me about Squalo's age (and sorry for mistaking who said it ;o;); but I'll be honest and say that I am too lazy to go back and re-write it (although the idea of writing a 12-year-old Squalo is pretty tempting). Just pretend that he is Dino's senpai instead of peer.

…

_Large, deft hands, calloused and strong from constantly holding the rough handle of a gun, ran slowly over Tsuna's bare, heated flesh. The touches were not gentle or tender or hesitant in any way, stroking and feeling and taking as they pleased, selfish and hungry. A hand slipped between Tsuna's legs, urging them apart. Demanding. Commanding. Powerful. Those oh-so-skillful fingers wrapped around Tsuna's aching erection, pumping him in the same insistent manner. At the same time, the man's other hand tweaked Tsuna's nipple, which, combined with his other ministrations, produced tiny whimpers and moans from the boy. The hands' owner leaned his weight onto Tsuna, nearly crushing the breath out of him. The man's mouth was attached to Tsuna's neck, and all the young Vongola could see of him was his spiky black locks of hair and those ridiculous curls that were his trademark._

_As his pleasure reached its peak, Tsuna mewled out the man's name in a voice he would never admit to owning. "Reborn…"_

Tsuna woke with a loud gasp, his eyes shooting open as he felt hot, sticky wetness near his nether regions. In the span of 0.01 seconds, he registered three things. One, he had just had a wet dream. Two, the star of that dream was his male home tutor. Three, aforementioned home tutor was glaring over at him from his side of the bed in annoyance.

The blood that rushed to his face burned hotter than dying will flames. "Hiiiiiiiiiiii!" he screamed in a pitifully high voice and leapt from the bed, only to topple over onto the cold tile floor. "Ita—ahhhhhh, it's wet! Hiiiiiii!" he cried, hands immediately moving to cover the wet spot by his crotch.

Reborn sat up and glowered at him. "Shut the hell up, Dame Tsuna. I'm trying to sleep, and you're being fucking annoying." Tsuna's eyes were instantly glued to the exposed chest of the irate hitman, who, as always, had not bothered with his pajama top. It wasn't there, and the realization of that fact sent the blood pooling from Tsuna's face back into his groin. "Hiiiiii!" he squealed again, clambering to his feet and making a mad dash towards the bathroom, tripping twice along the way, and slamming the door behind him when he finally got there.

Reborn sent the locked door a dirty look for good measure before lying back down, grumbling about "stupid, horny, no-good teenagers."

Tsuna quickly turned on the shower so that cold water was spewing from the shower head full blast. Hurriedly stripping of his clothes, he scuttled in and tried to clear his head and cool down. It was the first time that something like this had happened, and the fact that it was Reborn instead of Kyoko—_Reborn_ of all people!—scared the living daylights out of the young Vongola. His legs, already shaky from the excitement and shock, gave out, and he collapsed in the shower. His lips quivered slightly and he knew he couldn't hold back the tears. Burying his face in his hands, Tsuna cried softly to himself, wishing more than anything that he was home and that things were the way they were supposed to be—the way they were before—so that Reborn could fix everything for him, like he always did.

"Reborn," Tsuna whimpered quietly, trembling violently, huddled into a ball beneath the freezing downpour, not knowing what to do with himself. "Reborn…Reborn…"

Tsuna stayed that way for a long time. He didn't know how much time had passed—maybe an hour, maybe several—but he had stopped crying and his body was too tired to even bother shivering to fight the coldness of the shower water. He didn't even feel it, really; he was just numb…and tired—so tired that his ears didn't pick up the 'click' of a key turning or the slight screech of the door swinging slowly open; so tired that his puffy eyes didn't pick up the shadow blocking out the light; so tired that he didn't even noticed the barrage of icy droplets slow to a halt or a large, fluffy towel topple onto his head.

In fact, his hazy mind didn't register anything until he felt warm, strong arms begin rubbing his body with the towel, slowly ridding him of the tingly lack of sensation caused by the shock and the cold water. He blinked once, twice, three times and then slowly, tentatively, lifted his head, which had been buried in his arms, to look at the large, familiar hands gingerly coaxing life back into his limbs. Brown eyes gradually made their way past the hands, along the arms, briefly glimpsing the toned chest, up the neck to a familiar face, framed by two trademark curls, and those deep, unreadable black eyes.

"Reborn," he uttered the name that his foggy brain supplied.

The hitman let out a sharp breath of hot air that whispered along Tsuna's damp skin, sending shivers up his spine. "Idiot," he scolded, frowning at the boy. "Are you _trying_ to make yourself sick, Dame Tsuna?"

"R-Reborn," Tsuna said again, choking on the word, once again on the verge of tears.

Reborn let out another loud sigh and gathered the drowned-rat of a boy into his arms, lifting him effortlessly and carrying him out of the bathroom back to the bed. Sitting him down gently on the edge of the mattress, Reborn walked over to his drawers and pulled out a large, white button-down shirt that would probably reached down almost to the young Vongola's knees. Making his way back to the silent boy, he proceeded to dress Tsuna as best he could with the boy being as still and uncooperative as a doll. Once Tsuna was decently covered, he laid Tsuna back down onto his pillow and drew the covers over him, tucking the layers around the boy's body ever-so-gently.

"Go back to sleep, Dame Tsuna. And don't cause trouble this time," the hitman ordered coolly, although, to Tsuna's trained ear, the tone was just a little less callous than usual. It was that fact alone that allowed him to obey Reborn's command, slowly drifting off into the realm of a thankfully dreamless sleep.

…

Reborn decided it would be a fun idea to wake him up with a bucket of ice water the next morning—something about washing away any thoughts of repeating last night. Tsuna was still shivering when he reached the dining hall, where the rest of the Vongola Family members from both times were already gathered and eating not-so-quietly.

"Juudaime!" Gokudera's proverbial tail was wagging a mile a minute.

"Ohayou, Gokudera-kun."

"Yo Tsuna!" Yamamoto flashed him a friendly grin.

"Ohayou."

"Kufufu. Good morning, Tsunayoshi-kun." Mukuro's grin was creepy more than anything else.

"O-ohayou, Mukuro."

"You're EXTREMELY late, Sawada!" Ryohei shouted on the top of his lungs, extreme as always.

"Gomen, Nii-san. Ohayou." Ryohei just flashed a bright smile at him and continued eating TO THE LIMIT.

"Yeah, too late! Ha ha ha! Lambo-san already ate Tsuna's share!" Lambo laughed maniacally, sending chunks of food flying in every direction. Unfortunately, one of those directions was towards Hibari's seat. Hibari knocked the cow across the room with a single, swift blow.

Hibird was sitting on the Namimori Middle Disciplinary Committee President's head, making a nest in his hair. "Tsuna is a dumb herbivore. Mukuro is a pineapple. Stupid cow. Kora!" it chirped.

Tsuna smiled weakly at the scene his Guardians were creating at the once peaceful breakfast table and then looked at the last Famiglia member present, uncertainty pulsing through his veins. He hadn't been able to face Reborn that morning. He hadn't even been able to look the man in the eye long enough to complain about the rude wake-up. Not that Reborn had made it easy; the hitman was grouchier than usual, making snide remarks about how Tsuna's pestilent moaning had kept him awake all night and how he had to keep moving farther and farther away to stop Tsuna from humping him in his sleep and how Tsuna was really, really small, even for a kid.

To be honest, Tsuna had felt like crying like a baby in the shower all over again.

"Ciaossu." The familiar greeting from the Arcobaleno made the tension in Tsuna's body evaporate as if it had never existed, and Tsuna realized just how much of an impact Reborn's quirky behavior had on his daily life.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered, relaxing at the sight of his infant home tutor. "O-ohayou gozaimasu."

"I've got a special training game planned for everyone today," the tiny hitman announced with a devilish smirk.

"Sounds like fun! Ha ha!" Yamamoto laughed. "Can I be on Tsuna's team this time?"

"I'll only join if I get to be on Juudaime's team this time!" Gokudera insisted at the same time.

Reborn's eyes filled with a mischievous glint. "Sure," he drawled out.

Tsuna gulped. This would not end well.

TBC

…


	10. Chapter 9

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Author: me ^^

Language: English

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Story Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?) Also, thanks to Superbi for correcting me about Squalo's age (and sorry for mistaking who said it ;o;); but I'll be honest and say that I am too lazy to go back and re-write it (although the idea of writing a 12-year-old Squalo is pretty tempting). Just pretend that he is Dino's senpai instead of peer.

...

Tsuna slowly opened his eyes, trying to ignore the faint ringing in his left ear and the frightening absence of sound in his right one. His vision blurred as his eyes tried to focus on his surroundings. He absently registered the white, popcorn-free ceiling, white walls, and white bed. The entire room, in fact, seemed utterly devoid of color. He made a couple of excruciating and ultimately unsuccessful attempts to sit up, eventually flopping back against his pillow with a defeated sigh. He absently recalled the last thing he remembered.

_"Left, Juudaime! Left! Left!"_

_"I wouldn't do that, Tsuna. It looks like there's a mine there."_

_"Your glasses must be broken, you stupid baseball nut! There's no bomb to the left; there's three to the right and one directly ahead of him, but the left is clear!"_

_"I think the little guy woulda said something if they were broken. Maybe your eyes are bad, Gokudera. Don't you wear glasses sometimes? Why aren't you wearing them? They looked really good on you. Did they break?"_

_"Your brain's what's broken, you fucking moron!" _

_Tsuna stood his ground shakily, the voices of his friends echoing loudly in his ear through the headset. Gokudera's voice blasted from the left side, and Yamamoto's came much more quietly (thank god!) from the right. He couldn't see their expressions, but he didn't really need to in order to tell that this 'team-building game' had turned into their typical schoolyard bickering._

_Reborn had divided all of the interested Family members into teams to play Mine Field (and while Tsuna was not interested in the slightest, he had been the only one not given a choice; Hibari had been allowed to skip out, much to Tsuna's chagrin, who felt like Reborn was picking on him and favoring Hibari). The game was exactly what it sounded like—Reborn had set up a mine field in the middle of a courtyard. _

_One team member (Tsuna) was blindfolded and given a headset through which they could hear the other two team members. The second member was given a red pair of special glasses to detect mines. The third member was given a pair of blue goggles to detect an entirely different set of mines. The two who could see were supposed to direct the blindfolded teammate across the field safely. (Tsuna was getting the distinct impression that neither of his two best friends had been paying attention to Reborn's explanation, or else they wouldn't be arguing about who could see the mines properly. Well, knowing Gokudera, they would probably argue anyways.) Whoever got across first won, and whoever got blown up, well…it sucked to be them._

_Tsuna was tempted to rip off the duck tape (Reborn hadn't trusted him to obey the 'player one may not talk' rule; apparently, Tsuna was the only one he felt the need to duck tape…) and shout at them both out of sheer frustration. He was currently balancing on one foot on uneven and loose soil, not sure if it was safe to put the other one down. It felt like even the slightest wind would knock him over. _

_In the end, it was not the wind but rather Ryohei, who had decided to plow through without the guidance of his teammates, that knocked him off his feet, subsequently landing him face first onto the red mine on his left and setting off a chain reaction in the one in front of him, which in turn set off the three to his right. He faintly heard Gokudera shrieking "Juudaime!" and several others calling out to him in concern before he blacked out. _

The door of the room Tsuna was in opened soundlessly, and Tsuna turned his head at the soft tapping of shoes echoing on the tile.

"Reborn…" The tall man stalked further into the room and towered over Tsuna's bed.

"The Vongola Family is doomed if that's the best you and your Guardians can do." Tsuna felt slightly ashamed of the display he and his friends had shown to the hitman. It must have looked pathetic. "Poor conduct from the subordinates reflects the poor discipline of the superior. Their inability to properly communicate with you and with each other is ultimately your fault."

"How is it _my_ fault?!"

"Because you're the leader. It's your duty to take responsibility for those under you." Tsuna looked away. "Their unsuitable behavior is your failure."

Tsuna was silent for a minute, and then, in a soft, meek voice, he said, "They're still growing. Me, too. I am, too." He turned his face back to find Reborn staring down at him with an unreadable expression. Tsuna forced himself into a sitting position, disregarding his body's protests. "Of course we're not perfect yet. If we were, then the Ninth wouldn't have sent his best hitman to Japan to train us. No one starts out being the best at anything. It's something you have to work at. I know this better than anyone. I'm 'Dame Tsuna' who never does anything right no matter how hard he tries.

"But, you know what? I do try. I try really hard, so that hopefully I'll be ready when I really need to protect my Family. And I know the others are the same. Gokudera-kun may yell at Yamamoto a lot, but…it's not as bad as it used to be. I know he's trying. And I know Yamamoto's putting in a lot of effort, too. And Nii-chan tries 'extremely' hard. And Lambo has really done his best to stay calm and persevere, even when things get too hard for a kid his age. And Hibari-san, who hates crowding, still came to the past with everyone. And-and Mukuro, too. He hates the Mafia more than anything, and yet he's doing his best as my Guardian.

"It may not seem like much to someone like you, the best hitman in the world, but we're doing our best, and we've come a long way to get to where we are now, however far that may be from our goal."

"And what happens if the time to protect everyone comes today?"

Tsuna hesitated but replied resolutely, "The same thing that would happen if it came ten years from now. I'll do everything in my power. I want to protect everyone. I'll do whatever it takes." Even as he said that, he knew deep down that wasn't _exactly_ true. He wouldn't do _whatever_ it took. He wouldn't do anything he would later regret. He wouldn't do anything that would make his friends ashamed of him. He wouldn't commit the atrocities he was sure even the kindhearted Ninth had committed to ensure the continuation of the Vongola line. No, Tsuna couldn't care less about the Vongola. He wouldn't kill in the name of Vongola. He would rather destroy it than destroy other people's hopes in an attempt to preserve it.

But Tsuna didn't dare voice these thoughts to Reborn or to anyone else. They'd probably have him taken out back and shot as a traitor or something.

So lost in thought was Tsuna that he didn't notice the smirk that graced the adult hitman's lips just ever so slightly, a smirk so reminiscent of the baby-faced home tutor that it probably would have set all of Tsuna's fears at ease if only he'd seen it.

TBC


	11. Chapter 10

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Author: me ^^

Language: English

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18 overall

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Story Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?) Also, thanks to Superbi for correcting me about Squalo's age; but I'll be honest and say that I am too lazy to go back and re-write it (although the idea of writing a 12-year-old Squalo is pretty tempting). Just pretend that he is Dino's senpai instead of peer.

…

The next time Tsuna woke up, it was early morning. The sunlight was trickling in through the window near his infirmary bed. In the back of his mind, he groggily registered the soft sound of baby snoring; a sound he associated with his home tutor after a crazy ordeal. He sluggishly sat up and took a look around the room for the source. The Arcobaleno was sleeping with his eyes open in the chair next to Tsuna's bed, and the teen wondered if his baby-faced tutor had been watching over him all night. It certainly seemed that way, since it was still too early for normal people to be up let alone to come visit him—thank the gods, because Tsuna knew that Gokudera would be there to cause a ruckus first thing!

"Reborn…?" he murmured, his voice gruff from sleep.

Reborn awoke instantly at the sound of his pupil's voice. "I see you're awake, no-good Tsuna."

Tsuna glared at the use of his nickname, but didn't comment on it. "What are you doing here?" he asked. In all honesty, he was hoping to hear something along the lines of 'I was worried.' In hindsight, he would realize how ridiculous the very idea of Reborn seriously saying something like that was.

"That should be obvious, dame Tsuna. I wanted to be the first one to re-injure you when you woke up." With that, the baby hitman kicked Tsuna in the head. Tsuna yelped and cradled his face where he was sure there was a tiny boot print. "Your display on the mine field was pathetic, dame Tsuna. You should learn to control your subordinates better. Poor conduct on the part of the subordinates reflects poor leadership on the part of the boss."

Tsuna glared at Reborn. "Okay, I get it! I've already had this talk with you! And the _other_ you didn't have to kick me in the teeth to say it, either!"

Reborn pinched him and twisted his arm painfully. "Baka Tsuna, the other me doesn't yet understand that you remember things with your body, not your mind. I'm just making sure that my boot leaves an imprint—I mean, that my words leave an impression." The teen gaped at his home tutor. No, Tsuna thought, it was definitely more the issue of Reborn wanting to leave a boot print on Tsuna's face.

"Ne, Reborn…"

"What is it, Dame Tsuna?"

Tsuna ignored the jibe. "D-did you make sure to tell everyone back home what's going on?" he inquired softly. "I mean, they must be worried. Mom and Haru and Kyoko-chan…and Bianchi, too. She must be hysterical at your disappearance…" Tsuna just hoped she didn't blame him and try to kill him again with her poison cooking.

Reborn's mouth was frowning deeply as he replied, "Bianchi doesn't own me. There's no need to tell her where I am." He paused. "I did tell Maman that I was taking everyone to an extreme Sumo training camp, so the women won't be worried."

"Bianchi will see through that, Reborn," Tsuna argued, growing frustrated with the tiny hitman's attitude. "She's smart, she knows about the Mafia, and she's your lover. She'll definitely know there's something going on besides a 'sumo camp.'"

Reborn's fedora hid his eyes from Tsuna's view. "She's just my number four. Leave her be. Let her worry all she wants."

Tsuna's temper flared to life and he glowered at his home tutor. "She's part of my Family, Reborn," he exclaimed. "I want to make sure that the members of my Family are okay. I don't want her to worry about you. Next time, tell her what's going on; don't leave her in the dark."

"You're a hundred years too early to be giving me orders, Dame Tsuna," Reborn muttered darkly, eyes still hidden by his hat. Tsuna gulped, his face growing pale and his palms becoming slick with nervous sweat. But, Reborn didn't strike him. "Besides, Bianchi would worry whether she knew the truth or not. And if you really want her to know the truth, then be a man and tell her yourself."

"I can't! I don't know how! She's not even here! That's why _you_ should have done it when you were with her in our time!" Tsuna cried. Reborn seemed strangely upset by his answer. "Hiii! What do you want from me? I can't do anything about it now!"

Instead of answering Tsuna's question, the Arcobaleno changed the subject. "Now, everyone's waiting for you in the dining hall. It's not nice to make them all worry. You have thirty seconds to get there, or I'll shoot you," Reborn informed the boy, transforming Leon. Tsuna let out a terrified 'hiiiii' and high-tailed it out of the infirmary.

…

Before Tsuna knew it, an entire week had passed since his Guardians showed up in the past. Reborn's "super-special-one-of-a-kind training program" had made disappointingly little progress. Apparently, along with the coin game, there were daily activities similar to 'Mine Field' designed to improve communication and teamwork, but by the end of the day, most of them were ready to bite each other to death and were even less willing to negotiate terms of coin exchange.

Tsuna, for his part, found most of the activities unexpectedly enjoyable. The activities so far had included an EXTREME ropes course, a three-on-four soccer game with Reborn as the terrifying referee, a trip to the beach (which turned into a game of capture the flag on the sand and then beach volleyball with a ball that exploded upon contact with the sand), and an amusement park. It wasn't difficult to see that his home tutor's intention was to build up their bonds and have a good time. It was much less intensive than what Tsuna usually envisioned when he thought of "Reborn" and "training" in the same sentence, and he'd gotten to learn a lot about his Guardians in the process.

The problem was that he seemed to be the only one benefitting from the Arcobaleno's efforts—or so he thought until that morning when a relaxed Yamamoto and a rather vexed-looking Gokudera approached Ryohei with the purpose of handing over their coin in mind.

Gokudera reluctantly held out the coin. Ryohei offered his underclassmen an EXTREMELY bright grin and made to take it when suddenly Gokudera retracted his arm and collapsed on the ground, writhing in agony. Tsuna ran to his friend's side to try to help him.

"Gokudera-kun, what's wrong?"

"Aneki…" Gokudera moaned, squirming in pain as Bianchi, Fuuta, I-Pin, Haru, and Kyoko entered the room flanked by Dino and the Varia officers.

"Hiiiiiiiii!" Tsuna yelped and quickly backpedaled behind Yamamoto.

Marmon was the first to open his mouth. "I expect to be well-paid for this, just so you know."

"Shishishi. I'll be satisfied as long as I can smell some blood and hear the cries of the wounded as they beg for mercy." Belphagor licked his lips hungrily. "Ummmnn, just thinking about it gets me hot. Ushishi."

"Vooooii! You're sick in the head, Bel," Squalo replied to the blonde, scooting away slightly. Levi moved away as well, looking queasy.

"Ah, Ryohei~! Hisashiburi! Looking good!" Lusseria cooed.

Ryohei waved brightly. A powerful gust of wind as a blurry figure sped past him almost knocked him off his feet. "Whoa, that was some extreme speed!"

"REBORN," Bianchi cried, throwing herself at the adult form of her beloved hitman, latching on in such a way that said she was never letting go. "My love, oh, how I missed you so…"

"Vvoooooiii, Vongola!" Squalo shouted. Levi jumped in surprise at the sheer volume and tried to scoot away from him, only to find himself bumping into Bel, who laughed creepily.

Tsuna blinked as the long-haired swordsman approached his hiding place behind Yamamoto. Squalo paused briefly to greet the Rain Guardian before redirecting his attention to Tsuna. "Why the hell didn't Xanxus come too?! We took an oath to serve you in exchange for a pardon for the Ring Conflict! That means Xanxus should be here, too! Where is he? Or wasn't he _good enough_ for a little punk-ass, no-good piece of trash like you?!"

"Hiiiiiiii?!?" Tsuna whimpered in terror. He had absolutely no idea where Xanxus was or why he didn't accompany the rest of the Varia, and he didn't know why Squalo expected him to know. In fact, Tsuna found it a bigger mystery that Squalo didn't know where his precious leader was.

"Aww, give the kid a break, Squalo," Dino said, throwing an arm around the other man casually. "My little bro has been in the past this whole time. He would be the last person to know where Xanxus is. Besides, don't you remember that the Ninth said he required Xanxus' presence for a little longer and that he would send him along shortly?" Squalo looked embarrassed and, to hide it, brushed the haneuma off brusquely, opting instead to engage in a short battle with Yamamoto. "Sorry about him, Tsuna. He's got a one-track mind when it comes to Xanxus."

Tsuna laughed uneasily. "I can see that."

"Tsuna-san!"

"Tsuna-kun, hisashiburi."

Tsuna turned to see Haru and Kyoko approaching him. Haru was clutching Lambo to her chest and Kyoko was carrying I-Pin. His heart lifted at the sight of Kyoko's friendly smile. And yet, it wasn't the usual fluttery feeling he generally associated with seeing Sasagawa Kyoko. It was the feeling he associated with seeing a member of his Famiglia, but nothing more than that. It was the feeling he got when he saw Haru and I-Pin and Fuuta and Bianchi after such a long time apart.

Speaking of Bianchi, why the hell was she still clinging to Reborn like she had some right to him?!

Tsuna quickly caught himself. What was he thinking? Bianchi had every right to embrace Reborn. She was his lover, after all. Tsuna had neither a right nor a reason to feel jealous—and he wouldn't deny that that's what it was: out-right jealousy.

A weight on his shoulder diverted his attention away from the scene that was causing him such inner turmoil. His baby-faced tutor was perched comfortably, talking to Kyoko and the others. "—and the goal of the game is to get as many of these coins as possible within the time limit without using force or violence. You're at a disadvantage because you joined late, but feel free to participate anyways. I'm sure no-good Tsuna, here, who invited all the women, would love for you to join in." Tsuna gaped at his home tutor. Lies! Tsuna didn't want the women in this dangerous Mafia-infested headquarters! He wanted them safe at home! He certainly didn't invite them, and Reborn had no reason to—

"_I want to make sure that the members of my Family are okay."_

Tsuna's mental tantrum died a pathetic death.

Okay, so maybe he _had_ given Reborn a reason to think he wanted them there.

Meanwhile, Kyoko and Haru looked at each other and took the coins being offered by Reborn. "I forgot to mention, you work in pairs so one of you will have to give your coin to Bianchi and I-pin."

"What about me?" Fuuta inquired, joining the circle. "I wanna play, too."

Dino grinned at him and offered, "I'll team up with you, Fuuta." Reborn handed them a coin.

"Is there a prize for the person who collects the most?" Haru asked curiously.

Reborn's eyes picked up an evil gleam. "Of course. The Vongola Family will pay out a hefty sum to the victor—"

"Oi, I'm playing this game, too," Marmon insisted, appearing out of nowhere.

Reborn smirked. "Your partner?" Marmon hesitated for a moment before dragging over disturbingly giddy Belphagor. Tsuna watched in horror as Reborn handed them a coin. The two proceeded to spread word about the game to the other Varia members.

"Reborn!" he wailed in protest. "You can't let them play! They're violent killers!"

To Tsuna surprise, Reborn didn't just punch him and say, 'Dame Tsuna, I'm the god of this Family, and what I say goes!' Instead, his face was impassive as he reminded the young Vongola, "I'm a hitman, too, Tsuna, and I've got a higher number of kills under my name than any of them. The Vongola Family is built on bloodshed and violence, and most of its members have taken human life at least once."

Tsuna felt a twinge of guilt at the infant's words. "Y-yeah. You're right. I'm sorry." He looked down, feeling ashamed. Then, something else occurred to the teen. "Hey, Reborn…"

"What is it, Dame Tsuna?"

"Why did everyone else get to pick their partners except for me and my Guardians? That doesn't seem fair."

Reborn smirked arrogantly and replied with a blow to the head, saying, "Dame Tsuna, you should know by now I'm the god of this Family and that what I say goes!"

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

TBC


	12. Chapter 11

Title: Now and then, neither here nor there

Author: me ^^

Language: English

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Pairing: R27 (Reborn x Tsuna) as the main pairing; mild others/Tsuna and side pairings

Rating: R-18 overall (not this chapter, but...it's coming.)

Warnings: Spoilers (kinda, sorta, just to be safe); boys love (male x male); violence; language; slight dubious consent at some points; also, I pretty much bit the canon timeline to death (hence the "kinda, sorta" spoilers)

Summary: Tsuna has yet another mishap with the 10-year bazooka. This time, it sends him a decade into the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kateikyoushi Hitman REBORN! This is a work of fanfiction, and I am not making any financial profit from it.

Story Notes: Regarding the TYL timeline, I basically took pieces of information that I wanted to use from it and then discarded the rest. It didn't really happen in this fic. I'm just using what I know of it (anime-verse only, btw) to recreate a Ten Years Earlier verse. Consider this piece pre-TYL Arc but possibly containing TYL Arc spoilers. (Did that make any sense?) Also, thanks for correcting me about Squalo's age; but I'll be honest and say that I am too lazy to go back and re-write it (although the idea of writing a 12-year-old Squalo is pretty tempting). Just pretend that he is Dino's senpai instead of peer.

…

Tsuna slept in the hallway that night to give Reborn and Bianchi some privacy. The hitman hadn't outright kicked him out, but the death glare Tsuna had received upon entering the room only to find the two of them well on their way to a passion-filled liaison was more than enough of a hint to send the teen high-tailing it out of there. Now, past midnight, Tsuna sat alone in the dark corridor on the cold, hard floor with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs.

He had thought about going in search of Gokudera and Yamamoto's room, but the sudden realization that maybe—just maybe—the two Guardians were similarly involved and didn't wish to be disturbed crossed his mind. Not that he thought Gokudera had reached a level of maturity where he could admit to liking Yamamoto; that seemed like a long way away yet. But still, even if they were just sleeping, he didn't want to wake them up or cause problems for anyone.

Tsuna's groggy mind vaguely registered the soft patter of footsteps on the hard floor down the hall. He blinked sleepily and turned his head in the direction of the noise, watching as the familiar form of his Cloud Guardian materialized from the darkness. The Namimori Disciplinary Head approached at a slow pace that had Tsuna's heart thundering in his chest at his impending doom. Hibari looked more irritable than usual, and Tsuna was absolutely certain he was going to get bitten to death by the other boy as a way to relieve that stress. Curling tighter in on himself, he buried his head in knees and clenched his eyes tight, wanting to just get the seemingly unavoidable beating over with.

Instead of pain, however, the only thing his senses picked up was the sound of a slender body colliding with the wall and then sliding downward. Tsuna chanced a glance to his side only to find Hibari sitting next to him, eyes fixed straight ahead, looking half-asleep and a little woozy.

Gulping, Tsuna mumbled the other's name tentatively, not wanting to provoke the dangerous teen but wanting to remind him that Tsuna was still present. "A-anou…H-H-Hibari-san?" Hibari turned weary, slanted eyes towards the source of Tsuna's voice. Tsuna swallowed audibly and continued, "A-are you…is everything all right? Why aren't you in bed?"

Hibari chuckled in amusement. "I don't think such a weak little herbivore has any right to ask me that. Are you trying to provoke me? Do you want to get bitten?"

"N-no! No, I'm sorry! You don't have to answer my questions!" Tsuna cried fearfully.

Hibari let out a yawn and proceeded to stretch in a very cat-like manner before settling back against the wall. "So why is a weak little herbivore like Sawada Tsunayoshi out of his room so late at night in such a dangerous building without any protection?" Come to think of it, Hibari was right. Tsuna hadn't really thought about it, but the Vongola Headquarters was, in fact, a very dangerous place. It was filled with traps and vicious criminals, many of whom did not trust him and some of whom probably wanted to get rid of him altogether. Hibari chuckled again. "It seems you were too stupid to think of it."

Tsuna laughed weakly. "Y-yeah, I guess so. Heh heh." Another foolish question popped into his mind and, despite his better judgment, he decided to voice it. "Who is Hibari-san's roommate? I know it can't be Yamamoto or Gokudera-kun, so it has to be Nii-san, Lambo, or Mukuro, right?"

Hibari quirked an eyebrow at the smaller boy. "I have my own room." Tsuna's jaw dropped and he cursed Reborn at the unfairness of it. So busy was he sulking about his unlucky lot in life that he didn't notice the figure moving closer in the shadows, gun in hand. Hibari, however, was not so ignorant of the situation. He glared threateningly at the barely visible attacker, who tensed. Hibari subtly drew out his tonfa, and the enemy made a hasty retreat. Smart move. Otherwise he would have bitten the assailant to death.

"Hiiiiii!" Tsuna wailed, flattening against the wall in a defensive gesture. "Hi-Hibari-san, why do you have your tonfas drawn?"

Hibari turned his attention back to Tsuna. "I thought I told you not to ask stupid questions, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Kami korosu yo."

After whacking Tsuna several times, he turned to go back to his room. Pausing several steps later, having caught sight of the stalker from earlier hiding just around the corner waiting for him to leave Tsuna alone, he turned and addressed the bruised teen over his shoulder. "I have my own room, but there are two beds. You're welcome to the other one as long as you don't disturb my rest." Tsuna had a horrible flashback of his time in the hospital and immediately refused the offer. "I insist," the Cloud Guardian hissed dangerously, leaving Tsuna no option but to acquiesce.

Tsuna followed Hibari wordlessly down the seemingly endless corridor. When they finally arrived at the Disciplinary Committee Head's room, Hibari unlocked it and entered first, falling onto his bed tiredly, leaving the door open for Tsuna. Tsuna hesitantly entered the room, closing the door behind him as soundlessly as he could, careful not to disturb the atmosphere of the room, secretly feeling like he was walking on sacred ground.

Before he could take two steps into the room, Hibari's voice, muffled by a pillow, barked at him, "Lock the door." Tsuna quickly obeyed and then stood awkwardly in the doorway. Hibari sighed and haphazardly pointed to the other bed. "Sleep, herbivore. And be quiet about it, or I'll bite you to death." Once again, Tsuna hurried to comply, scuttling over to the bed and crawling under the covers. It wasn't difficult to ease his weary mind into blissful sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, Hibari was already gone, and Tsuna was surprised to find three shiny coins engraved with the Vongola crest resting innocently next to a small piece of paper with neat handwriting on it next to a folded pile of clean clothes.

_Hibari Kyoya (O) and Rokudo Mukuro (O)_

_Sawada Tsunayoshi (O) and Reborn (?)_

_Miura Haru (O) and Sasagawa Kyoko (O)_

Tsuna smiled and, after changing into the clothes left out for him, pocketed the coins. Careful to clean up after himself and remake the bed, Tsuna left the room quietly, eager to meet his Family in the dining hall for another new group activity.

...

A/n: From what I gather, a circle/maru ("O") in Japan is similar to a check mark in the US. In the case above, it is showing who gave consent to transfer ownership of the coins (because consent is required for the transaction to be valid).

Also, the next chapter should be out shortly. Much sooner than this one. (My computer decided to eat more than half of my files…I still don't know where they went, and it kinda bugs me. They just up and disappeared—documents, music, videos…just _gone_. This chapter and the one after it included. DX)


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